


Once Bitten, Never Shy

by ShinyGreenApple



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Explicit Sexual Content, Forbidden Love, Human/Vampire Relationship, Hunted Vampires, M/M, Rough Sex, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, vampire!hux
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2019-10-29 22:56:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyGreenApple/pseuds/ShinyGreenApple
Summary: Ben Solo, known to some as legendary vampire hunter Kylo Ren, has found happiness in Armitage Hux. But how long until Hux's true nature interferes with all that Ben holds dear?





	1. Chapter 1

Ben peeked his head in at the restaurant through the foyer. He'd gone out to get the car started and the heat running while Hux settled the bill. _'Next time I'll just pay myself,'_ he thought, slightly annoyed. They could have been halfway home by now, yet there was Hux, standing unnecessarily close to the counter, maintaining eye contact with their waiter, who looked like he would rather be anywhere, doing anything except talking to his customer.

 

“Is there anything else I can get for you tonight, Mr. Hux? Would you like one of our handcrafted desserts to take home?” The waiter, no older than his early twenties, remained calm, but Ben could see his free hand shaking not quite out of sight, his other one stretched out to take the credit card Hux held out to him. Hux smiled thoughtfully, looking the boy up and down and not immediately letting go of his card when he tried taking it from him.

 

“Dessert does sound . . . tempting - ” Hux's eyes glance fell on the boy's name tag before resuming his unsettling eye contact “ _Vincent_ , but it's a drink I'm craving tonight.” Vincent swallowed hard, now trying to tug the credit card from Hux's fingers, politeness be damned, with no success.

 

“Mr. Hux?” They continued staring at one another when Ben quickly loomed into sight, causing Vincent to startle and Hux to turn and look at his partner in slight annoyance. The credit card slipped from between both of them and clattered onto the counter before tumbling to the floor. Vincent ducked out of sight for a moment to retrieve it, red in the face and now even more flustered than ever. “I'm so sorry, sir, forgive my clumsiness. What was it that you wanted to take home? We've just gotten a shipment of Moscato.”

 

“Oh I _do_ want to take something home, sweet boy, but –”

 

“We'll take a bottle of your best sweet red.” Ben placed a hand firmly on his partner's shoulder. “The car should be warm by now, run outside and make sure no one steals it, yeah? I've been freezing out there waiting on you.” He glanced up at poor Vincent, who looked as if he wanted to be relieved by Ren's enormous presence, but didn't dare let his guard down. “I can sign his damned credit slip.”

 

“Yes, sir. I'll go and get your wine.” He disappeared for a few moments, carrying a large bottle of wine carefully placed in a frivolously fancy bag. He handed Ben a slip and a pen. Ben smiled, noticing that Hux had already added a tip to the bill; it was something they frequently squabbled over as Hux could be a bit of a skinflint, despite the fact he came from a family that was swimming in assets. Vincent held out the receipt and wine as Ben awkwardly dug in the pockets of his jeans and pulled out a few crumpled twenty dollar bills. He held them out to Vincent between two fingers as he took the wine and receipt from him. The boy looked bemused. Ben nodded towards the door Hux had just exited and tossed the bills onto the counter.

 

“Sorry about him, kid. Have a good night.”

 

 

“Do me a solid and try not being an asshole, Tig. Here, hold this.” Ben thrust the wine into Hux’s hands as he slid into the driver’s seat of his ‘82 Corvette, Hux languidly waited for him in the passenger’s seat, looking bored.

 

“Arsehole? You’re the one who barged in and spoiled my fun. Also, you know I hate it when you call me ‘Tig’.” He stared down at the package Ben had forced on him. “I don’t like sweet wine.”

 

“You were giving that kid a five star case of the creeps. And I’ll stop calling you that when you stop making horrible attempts to pick up barely legal waitstaff to take home. Some of us do still _need_ to eat actual food. Don’t get us banned from anymore of my favorite restaurants.”

 

“Oh, are you _still_ salty about that stupid hamburger place? It’s not like they banned both of us. And you, you’ve no idea what it’s like. That waitress smelled delectable. I would have shared her with you, you know. I do love to watch, it works up such a delicious thirst.”

 

“That’s _not_ the point!” Ben slammed the butt of his fist against the steering wheel. “You’re always being careless, drawing attention to yourself. We both know why that’s a bad idea.” He jerked the car into gear with more force than necessary and pulled out of the parking lot, tires squealing.

 

They had cruised along down the highway for several miles when Hux’s face twisted into a sardonic smile. “Of course, wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your friends, now, would we? What would your little secret organization think of you, what would your _parents_ , think?”

 

“Stop.” Ben’s tone was thick with warning and Hux felt the car accelerate; they were going well beyond the speed limit now. He knew continuing this conversation would likely put Ben into one of his moods, but by now he was aggravated and thirsty and Ben had not helped by stopping his attempts at bringing their waiter home. He tried not to think how delightful the blood would have tasted, the exquisite way the boy would have squirmed and screamed and slapped at him in attempts to escape. How Ben would have raged and panicked at the idea of having to dispose of a body or wipe the poor boy’s memory before dumping him at the entrance to the emergency room. He crawled across the center console, looming ominously and annoyingly in Ben’s view of the road, one hand on the headrest of his seat and the other resting between his legs. Ben adjusted his posture to keep the road in sight and tried to pretend there wasn’t an incubus on top of him.

 

“Stop what? Reminding you what I am? What you are? What would happen if they found out?” He ran long, elegant fingers through Ben’s tresses. “Mighty vampire hunter, Kylo Ren, fucking a bloodsucker. Going out to fancy dinners, to not-so-fancy dinners, seeing stupid comic book movies together. _Holding hands._ So much shame.”

 

Ben was on the verge of trembling with rage – the truth of the words stung and he wanted dearly to clutch Hux by the throat and fling him back into his seat – through the windshield would have been fun, too, but he’d only just had it replaced last month. “Sit back down and put your damn seat belt on. I can still stake you through the heart if I wanted to.”

 

“Not if I kill you first.”

 

They both smiled despite themselves as Ben pulled into the driveway of Hux’s two-story colonial. He tried to ignore how much it felt more like home every time he stepped through the door, the air inside smelling of incense and candles and Merlot. Hux was right, of course, about the shame and consequences that would arise if anyone were to find out. He’d be outcast, ostracized, possibly even end up with a price on his head. Hux’s voice broke the silence, almost as if reading his thoughts, as they stepped into the foyer and Ben emptied his pockets onto the table by the door and tugged off his jacket.

 

“We can’t pretend forever, Ren, and we both know this is going to end unhappily for _someone_.” He hung his pea coat on the rack beside Ben’s leather one. “Maybe not even you or me, but someone. I may be a monster, but I know how much your family means to you. And your stupid friends, especially that skinny girl, I can never remember her name. Roo?”

 

“Rey.” Ben laughed softly. “And if I ever see your pretty lips within throwing distance of her neck, I’ll pull your red head off your shoulders with my bare hands.”

 

“Consider me warned.” Hux called after him as he went into the kitchen. He sighed with disappointment as he placed the wine on the counter. “Why _sweet_ , Ren? It’s disgusting.”

 

Ben approached him from behind, wrapping him in a warm embrace and kissing his neck. “You’re so self-absorbed. The wine is for me. I have something special planned for _you_ , Tig.” Hux turned to watch him as he rummaged through a drawer and went to work on the bottle, easily removing the cork with a satisfying pop that made the corners of Hux’s mouth twitch ever so slightly, not unnoticed by Ben.

 

“That’s just your favorite sound in the world, isn’t it? You’re such a lush.”

 

“An agreeable noise, and indeed my favorite in another life not so long ago, but I have others that I find more pleasing now.”

 

Ben poured a large helping of the wine into one of Tig’s superfluously fancy goblets and leaned against the counter. “Such as?”

 

Eyes narrowed, Hux stalked closer to him, his gaze sliding from Ben’s eyes and down to his lips, before whispering into his ear - “The hitch in someone’s breathing when they realize there’s something not quite right about me. When they attempt to make a plea for me to stop, but the only thing that will come out is a pitiful little squeak, the subdued moaning while I take the very life force from them.” His eyes met Ben’s again, feigning a creepy sort of innocence above the ghost of an insincere smile. Ben looked disturbed, but not surprised. He slipped away from Hux’s reach and wandered towards the den, plopping down into a loveseat in the corner.

 

Ben was well-liked enough among his friends, his fellow hunters, and his family, but could never help feeling as if he were a bit out of place, that people altered their conversations when he was a part of them. He supposed that was what drove him to Hux so much. The man – the monster, changed his behavior for no one. He had, in fact, attempted to use the same horrible flirting technique on Ben as he had on poor Vincent on their first meeting, although it had been Ben who had approached first. The local brewery had been loud that evening and the two of them had slipped outside after exchanging flirtatious glances. It had taken less than a minute for Ben to spot the fangs and Hux to spot the emblem on the shoulder of his leather jacket. Ben had gone home with him that night anyways, managing to at the very least avoid giving a vampire welcome across his threshold. He smiled now at the memory of their first encounter and the many jokes about staking and impaling that had been made in poor but well-meaning taste.

 

“What’s that gormless look on your face for?” Hux asked as he sunk into the loveseat, settling himself between Ben’s legs and lazily leaning back against him, reaching up to absentmindedly stroke his face.

 

“Hmm? I was just thinking of the night we met and my monumental lapse in judgment.” He brought the goblet to his lips.

 

“Mutual lapses, I’d say,” Hux grinned up at him, closing his eyes as Ben bent down to claim his mouth, lips wet with the tang of wine, prodding insistently until Hux opened up to him, both of them sighing contentedly at the familiar thrill. The vampire exhaled deeply when they parted, reclining against his companion’s chest once more and reaching up to extract the wine from his hand.

 

“So much for _‘I don’t like sweet red’_ and _‘That’s disgusting’_ ,” Ben teased. Hux handed it back to him after depleting the glass significantly and Ben scoffed, eyeballing the meager mouthfuls left behind.

 

“I paid for it, I might as well drink it, disgusting or not.”

 

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to just admit you like sweet things once in a while. We all have guilty pleasures, Tig.”

 

“Indeed. And about that first night, you _do_ know, don’t you, what I’d intended to do?”

 

“Bend over for me and wail like a cat in heat?”

 

Hux laughed softly, tilting his head back to look at his boyfriend who wore a salacious smile. He traced a finger along Ben’s neck, stopping when he found a pulse point, licking his lips as he felt the steady heartbeat throbbing against his skin. “You were quite persuasive, if careless. I initially thought it was a pleasant postponement, but . . .”

 

“So why didn’t you?”

 

“Has such morbid curiosity ever led you to any place good, I wonder?”

 

“Led me here, didn’t it?” He took Hux by the hand, dotting soft kisses over his wrist, grinning at the way the other frowned in defiance when it was clear that he was pleased. “Aww, what’s the matter, am I being too sweet for you, and you don’t like it? Is it _disgusting_?”

 

Hux turned away quickly lest his face betray him, abruptly getting to his feet, raking a hand through his hair and heading for the staircase. “Shut up and get up here, quickly, before I decide retrieving that waiter is worth your wrath.

 

* * *

 

 

“One more word about that damn waiter and I’ll make sure you don’t drink for a month.”

 

“You don’t mean that, darling,” Hux gasped; Ben had shoved him onto the bed in a false fit of rage and currently fixed him with a feral stare. He made quick work of his clothes, flinging the last of them across the bedroom with little care, chest heaving as he watched Hux undress as well, the latter being far more whorish than necessary as he writhed against the mattress while doing so.

 

“I do,” Ben growled above him. “You’re vile. I’d lock you up in a cage, just take you out when I want to play with you.”

 

“You wouldn’t want me in such a state,” he pouted. “It’s quite unbecoming, the skin becomes transparent and I’d have great dark rings around my eyes and generally look like an animated corpse.” He wriggled out of his briefs and absently tossed them aside.

 

“I’ve seen your kind thirsty for longer, you’d still be pretty.” He ran his hands down the pale, thin torso, rubbing his thumbs against the pink nipples on the way back up.

 

“You think I’m pretty?” Hux gasped, mockingly lascivious.

 

“For a corpse”, Ben purred.

 

“You know that flattery is my weakness.” The smile on Hux's face was feral and unsettling, moreso as glistening fangs had begun to peek out from beneath the shapely lips; there was a thin gray line between arousal and thirst for his kind, and Ben tread carelessly over it now as he had done so many times before, the sight of the teeth making his pulse quicken and his cock throb as nothing else could. Tonight more than ever, he couldn't help imagining what they would feel like as they sunk into the spot where Hux had traced his finger.

 

“I know all your weaknesses,” Ben whispered before dipping his head down to kiss along Hux’s collarbone. “Silver,” he panted, “Bodies of water. Sunlight.” He claimed the perilous mouth with his own, a thrill rushing through him when he felt the fangs brushing lightly over his tongue. Hux pulled away, laughing languidly beneath him, stroking his face adoringly.

 

“You’ve read far too many fairy tales, my dear. I may dislike such things, but don’t be naive enough to think they render me weak.”

 

“I’ll admit, maybe not _those_ things,” Ben replied, smiling and rummaging in the nightstand drawer with one hand. “But I do know what makes you _weak_.”

 

Hux gasped, mouth agape as Ben pressed a slicked fingertip against his entrance, rubbing circles against him with a gentle yet excessively firm touch. “Clever boy”, he whispered, placing a hand atop the shaggy black hair and guiding Ben’s head down to his chest, groaning when he felt his tongue swiping over a hardened nipple.

 

“If you say so”, Ben replied quickly, moving aside to lick and nip at the other side as well and looking up to meet Hux’s eyes. “But it doesn’t take a genius to please a wanton whore like you.” He pressed in harder, the tip of his finger slipping into Hux’s tightness. The hand on his head tightened its grasp, fingers closing around locks of his hair and pulling painfully. He pressed his forehead against Hux’s, lip curled in a sneer. “That _hurts_!” he hissed.

 

“Good”, Hux cooed. “Repay me in kind.”

 

The words had barely left his mouth when Ben’s free hand took him by his own hair, yanking his head back. It was a juvenile and almost mocking thing, but Hux loved it; the feel of Ben’s greedy hot mouth against his neck, alternating between sucking ugly green marks over it and the imperfect teeth biting down almost unbearably hard against his tender flesh. He slipped a second finger in, working them gently until he was in to the knuckle. Hux slipped one hand down, grasping the other man’s length and stroking it swiftly.

 

“Ben . . . please.”

 

“Already?” Ben lifted his head, staring at him admiringly, taking in the glorious vision before him; the pale eyes filled with lust, desire made even more evident by the now fully-extended fangs. The monstrous figure pulled him close again in a series of open-mouthed, exploratory kisses.

 

“Need . . . ” he whispered between kisses. “Need you.”

 

“As I said”, Ben hummed. “Wanton.”

 

“Just shut up and fuck me”, Hux panted as he felt Ben’s fingers slide out of him, quickly replaced by his sufficiently-slicked cock pressing against the puckered hole. The bigger man stared down at him once more, lusty eyes boring into his own while he pushed in impatiently.

 

Hux could never quite find the right words when Ben breached him, but “huge” and “don’t stop” were frequently used, nonetheless. Tonight was no different, his legs irresistibly wrapping around the hunter’s waist as they joined, Hux gasping and moaning incoherently.

 

Ben shuddered as he sheathed himself inside the writhing man beneath him. That was another thing – force that would injure or at least pain a mortal man or woman was something that didn’t apply to his Hux. He could slip in as quickly as suited him, which he took full advantage of now, pushing steadily in until he was buried to the hilt.

 

‘ _Wanton, indeed’_ Hux thought, savoring the feeling of being stretched so deliciously, and Ben’s low growl, almost a purr, above him. He readjusted his grip, one hand pressed firmly against the back of Ben’s head, the other wrapped around his shoulders, in anticipation of what he knew was about to come.

 

“Are you mocking me, Tig?” Ben smirked above him.

 

“ _Dammit_ ”, Hux hissed, having temporarily forgotten about Ben’s abilities. “I’ve told you about being in my head. I should – _uungh_ – I should bite you.”

 

Ben’s smirk faltered for a moment and he managed to disguise his sigh of frustration as breathy laughter. “Sorry,” he quipped sardonically. “It’s just next to impossible not to when we’re this . . . _close_.” On the last word, he’d abruptly pulled out and slammed back in, causing Hux to tighten his grip, nails digging into his scalp and back with a delicious groan.

 

“Vicious beast,” he whispered.

 

Ben cradled the pale face in his hands, grinding his hips impatiently as he looked into those wretched, feral eyes. “ _You would know_.” He vaguely remembered Hux flashing him an unhinged smile before pulling him into a violent kiss that caused his inhibitions to flee, the impatient wriggling becoming deliberate thrusts and relishing in satisfaction each time he slammed against his lover with an unforgiving slap. Hux writhed beneath him in a mixture of pleasure and pain, the two qualities often coinciding for him; while Ben’s violent and crass lovemaking could hardly harm him, it often still hurt plenty, which was all the more thrilling.

 

“Gods, you’re strong,” he sighed loudly, feigning a sudden cheeky attempt to escape. To his satisfaction, two large hands gripped him by the shoulders, flipping him over and pinning him down even as he strained against them.

 

“I’m not done with you,” Ben growled into his ear, causing a shudder to run though him and his cock to throb against the bedsheets.

 

“Of course not,” Hux replied breathily, glancing behind him in mock remorse. “I’m so sorry, forgive me?”

 

Panting, Ben smiled despite himself, relinquishing his hold and allowing Hux to rise to his hands and knees and glance back at him in a ridiculous display of doe-eyed innocence, lips set in a pout. Ben crawled atop him, nuzzling against his neck and nibbling at his ear. “You’re lucky you’re pretty,” he murmured, slipping one arm around the thin waist and hooking the other in front of him so that Hux’s neck rested against the crook of his elbow. Hux smiled and relished the feeling of being caged into the protective, possessive embrace for a moment or two before reaching up to cover Ben’s hand in his own.

 

“So you’re saying if I’d have been an ugly little git, you’d have killed me that night?”

 

Ben suddenly tightened his grasp, resting his head over Hux’s shoulder. “Don’t.”

 

There was something vulnerable in the tone of Ben’s voice, and the way the curtains of black hair hid his face from view that convinced Hux to cease his gentle teasing, however innocent he had intended it to be. He caressed Ben’s arm softly before reaching up to part his way through the tangle of black curls and pull him in for another kiss, arching his back as their tongues met; Ben’s hand left his waist for just a moment and Hux felt him slide back in, nudging his legs apart before curling his arm around him once more.

 

Ben was quieter now and his thrusts steady but gentle, and Hux was ever-so-slightly overwhelmed at the feeling of being held so completely, even as he had to occasionally strain to breathe with his neck caught in the crook of Ben’s arm. His own cock was still neglected as Ben’s movements grew more erratic and his breathing heavier. Even as Hux reached for his aching shaft, Ben’s hand was there first, wrapping firmly around it and thumbing the weeping tip. “I’ve got you”, he mumbled softly, his strokes slow and sensuous in strong contrast with the increasing speed of his hips. Hux could only splutter and gasp as he was being taken, inside and out. A few more moments went by in blissful agony before Ben groaned deeply, his thrusts finally slowing until he pressed into Hux a final time, relentlessly filling him with sticky heat. Meanwhile, Hux panted and cried out hungrily beneath him, desperate for the same release, his arm buckling beneath both their weight as Ben bit against his shoulder, aftershocks claiming him. After a few moments, he pulled out of Hux with a reluctant moan and sat back on his haunches, catching his breath. Hux collapsed in frustration, rolling onto his back and staring at him in disbelief.

 

“Are you _really_ going to leave me like this?” he whined, instinctively reaching for his once again neglected member.

 

“No!” Ben snapped softly, both in reply and reprimand, snatching Hux by the wrist and pinning the offending limb above his head. “I said I’ve got you,” he smiled, releasing his grip and kissing a wet trail from Hux’s neck down to his waist. He glanced up at Hux mischievously before taking his shaft in one hand and running his tongue from base to tip, enjoying the look of disbelief that met his eyes.

 

“But why – ” He was cut off by a finger against his lips and Ben’s confident smile before he leaned down, taking the head of Hux’s cock in his lips. His mouth fell open in ecstasy and Ben hooked his finger in against his lips even as he took more of Hux into his mouth. It was strange, it was exhilarating, and above all else that mattered, Hux _liked_ it. Abandoning all trepidation, he buried his hands in Ben’s hair and pulled him even closer, not stopping until he felt himself bump against his throat, causing both of them to moan and making him worry he’d climax then and there. Probably due to his ability to sense emotions and thoughts, Ben swiftly pulled away for a moment to let him recover. “I told you I know your weaknesses, and now I know another,” he purred, smiling at Hux’s sneer before taking his length in again, doing things with his tongue that Hux wouldn’t have thought possible.

 

Hux’s breath came in desperate gasps, helplessly combing through Ben’s hair as his head rose and fell, hollowed cheeks and slick lips wrecking him with every stroke. “Ben . . .” he choked. “Ben I can’t hold . . . I can’t. I’m going to . . .”

 

Ben took one of his hands in his own, lacing their fingers together and gripping tightly in reassurance, giving Hux the confidence to let go his hesitance and let his body take over, pumping his hips upwards for a few moments until he felt his inevitable climax approaching, tugging Ben’s head against him, his mouth open in a silent scream, shuddering at the low rumble of the growl in Ben’s throat as he rode out his release. Ben pulled away slowly, licking him clean as he went, and settled in beside him, taking him in his arms and pulling him close.

 

“Why did you do that? You’ve never done that, I didn’t think . . .”

 

“Didn’t think what?” Ben grinned. “That I go down? What kind of a putz doesn’t suck his boyfriend’s dick?”

 

“I didn’t say you were a putz, although throughout the course of the evening, you’ve called me an asshole and a whore, among other things.”

 

Ben let out a snort of laughter. “All true, though. Why is this bothering you so much?”

 

“You know I can’t return the favor, _Ren_. And you know why.” He smiled, the fangs still prominent having emerged in lust and remaining due to thirst.

 

“No, you’re right.” He ran a finger over the sharp teeth fondly. “I’m not about to stick my dick in there. But I don’t care about that,” he smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Hux laughed at Ben’s crass way of speaking and turned over, his back snuggled against the other man’s warmth.

 

“If you say so. Goodnight, Ren.”

 

“Goodnight, asshole.”

 

Hux did not sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

When Ben awoke late the next morning, Hux’s side of the bed was empty, and had been for hours. He blinked against the sun streaming in through the thin white curtains and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. There was a faint clinking coming from the kitchen downstairs accompanied by the smell of bacon and coffee.

 

“Smells good,” he shouted, flopping back down against the pillows.

 

“Of course it does,” a slightly higher voice answered. “Are you bringing your lazy arse down here?”

 

“No.” His phone lit up. Two unread messages, one from Rey,( _“Are you going to make an appearance tomorrow night?”_ ) likely sent the previous night when he’d been pleasantly occupied, and the newest one just now from Hux.

 

 _“Go hungry then. This isn’t a restaurant.”_ Ben smiled and reluctantly flung the covers off and pulled on a pair of lounge pants, pocketing his phone before meandering downstairs. Hux stood over the stove wearing a robe, hair recently washed and hanging in his face. The smell of body wash and conditioner mingled with the already pleasant smell of breakfast. He poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter at the far end of the large kitchen, just taking in the sight of Hux being . . . normal. One would never guess that he was anything other than human in this moment. Ben continued to sneak little glances at him as he reached for sugar to add to his cup, jumping in surprise as an orange blur leaped out from behind it and landed on the floor to circle Hux’s legs. Hux flashed a genuine smile as he reached down to rub the cat’s cheeks.

 

“Good morning, Millie.” He surreptitiously slipped her a piece of bacon.

 

“Is that really good for her?”

 

“A little won’t hurt her.” Hux winked.

 

“You’re in a better mood this morning,” Ben quipped, putting his mug down and shoveling scrambled eggs onto a plate.

 

“A good shag tends to do that.”

 

“Is that all?” Ben set his plate down and placed his hands on either side of Hux’s face, gently pushing his lips back; the fangs were still present, but miniscule. He met Ben’s gaze confidently, unfazed. “I know you left after I fell asleep.”

 

“I was marinating in sex fluids, I wanted a shower.”

 

“Uh-huh. Tell me it wasn’t the boy from the restaurant.”

 

“It wasn’t, although I’ll remind you that I don’t demand you give me an inventory of the names of all those of my kind that you kill every week.” He was satisfied at the look of guilt that clouded Ben’s face.

 

“I’m sorry”, he muttered. It’s just – ”

 

“It’s alright”, Hux interjected gently. “As I said last night, this is complicated for both of us. And we’re both stubborn selfish bastards.” He placed a few strips of bacon onto Ben’s plate and grated cheese over the eggs before handing it off to him and picking up his own. “Care to take this back upstairs?” Ben nodded, smiling.

 

 

“You do know how to cook, for someone that doesn’t rely on it.” Ben sighed, putting his empty plate on the nightstand.

 

“Just because I don’t _need_ it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. It just doesn’t serve me any real purpose. Kind of like smoking a cigarette, except a little breakfast won’t eventually kill me. I was human not so long ago, you know.”

 

Ben grabbed his hand, bringing it to his lips. “You’re still human to me. Mostly.”

 

“That’s a lie, Ben Solo. You like me because I’m a monster, because some part of this appeals to you _and_ to Kylo Ren of the Resistance like a forbidden fruit. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.” Ben had turned away from him but still held his hand. The silence was broken by the gentle tinkling of a bell as Millicent leaped onto the bed and made herself comfortable on Hux’s chest.

 

“Take Millie for example.”

 

“What about her?” Ben asked.

 

“She strays outside sometimes and I worry she’s been eaten by a dog or shot by some arsehole or hit by a car. Which reminds me, I need to get rid of the cat door. Anyways, she’ll always return, but often she’ll bring me a dead animal. Just this morning she put a sparrow on the kitchen counter as I was making the coffee. A few mornings ago, I woke up to her, just like this, except there was a mangled squirrel between her and my face.”

 

“That’s disgusting.”

 

“To an alarming degree, yes it is. But there’s only one solution.”

 

“Fix your damn cat door, like you said?”

 

Hux smiled, absentmindedly stroking Millie’s fur as she purred contentedly atop him. “Keep her trapped, keep her confined away from the outside world. She’ll have food, she’ll have me. But she’ll still kill. There are bats in the attic, which I take personal offense to being massacred for obvious reasons,” he grinned. “No, the solution would be to get rid of the cat.”

 

“Ha!” Ben scoffed. “You would never. You love that thing.”

 

“Exactly. I enjoy her companionship. So every now and then, I have to overlook a dead rodent, because killing them is simply in her nature and there’s nothing I can do to change that. Does that make sense?”

 

“It does. It also tells me that you equate human life with rodents and sparrows.”

 

“Because I do. It was only mere chance and a bit of sexual tension that made the difference between you drained dead in an alley and . . . somehow having breakfast in my bed 6 months later.” He frowned at Ben’s somber expression. “Come here, sweet boy.” He pulled Ben close, scratching his scalp and placing a kiss to his jaw. “If it makes any difference to you, I didn’t kill anyone last night. She was a sweet girl with an obvious vampire fetish; pop culture has produced a convenient amount of those. I closed the wound and dropped her at the ER, told them I found her like that and she said she was anemic. She’ll be fine in a few days. Go and wipe her mind if you like, but you’ll only be removing a very pleasant memory, it would be cruel, really.”

 

“Just be careful, Tig. Ok?”

 

Hux rolled his eyes. “I’ll try my best. But would you _please_ stop calling me that? It’s so infantile.”

 

“You got it, _baby_.”

 

He was met with an icy glare. “NO.”

 

Ben grinned stupidly as he rose from the bed, but not before taking Hux by the chin and giving him a quick peck. “Okay _Tiiiiig_ ”.

 

“Arse. Where are you going?”

 

“Shower. I’m still marinating in sex fluids, remember?” he pulled his phone from his pocket.

 

“That’s disgusting. Then what?”

 

“I need a costume,” he replied, tapping away at his phone.

 

“Droll. Whatever for?”

 

“Yearly Resistance Halloween party.” He winced. “At my parents’ place.”

 

“You still let your parents force you to dress on Halloween?”

 

“No, but Rey will make my life a living hell if I don’t.”

 

“My mistake. You let a _teenager_ force you to dress. That’s much better.”

 

“She just turned twenty. And I at least have to tell her I tried. No one ever has anything in my size, anyways. Besides, I want a burrito.”

 

“You _just_ ate!”

 

“I didn’t get this size by accident, you know.” He headed towards the hall once more, backtracking to stick his head in the doorway. “You’re welcome to join me, by the way,” he grinned.

 

“I’m afraid not, darling. I’ve already showered twice – once after you had your way with me and then again after I drank from that lovely college student. You wouldn’t want me to get ashy. You have fun though, in the bathroom and at your little party.”

 

Ben’s voice faded as he trailed down the hall. “Oh, sorry, I should have been more clear. Only the shower was optional. You’re coming with me tonight.”

 

“ _What?_ ”

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux causes mischief at the Halloween party and discovers a new talent. Ben has a nightmare that makes him question nearly everything (trigger warnings at end of chapter). Rey is protective of Ben and subjects Hux to a friendly interrogation; can this be the beginning of an unlikely friendship?

“Ben, are we going in or do you just want to sit out here and work yourself into digestive distress all evening?”

 

They sat in the Corvette, parked just outside of view of Han and Leia’s enormous New England style house. Little beads of sweat were forming on Ben’s forehead, despite the chilly October air; his hand hovered over the keys in the ignition, wanting to restart the engine, but unsure of which direction he wished to go after.

 

“I dunno, I’m starting to agree with you that this might have been a bad idea, or at least it was after you decided to show up like _that_.” His eyes slid up and down Hux’s attire with begrudging admiration and equal disapproval; he wore a deep blue frock coat with gold brocade on the collar and cuffs of the sleeves. It was paired with a ruffle shirt and finished off nicely with a pair of tailored slacks and black boots that reached his knees. Like Cruise’s Lestat that had graced the screens so many decades ago, no one could ever accuse Hux of having poor taste.

 

“It’s Halloween, darling, lots of people go as vampires; we passed at least five of varying ages on the drive here, mostly tacky but charming little Draculas. Besides,” he added, baring his teeth and checking his reflection in the black mirror of his phone screen, “it’s been nearly 17 hours since I drank, these were bound to make an appearance sooner or later. It wouldn’t do for any other character to randomly sprout fangs in the middle of the evening. Easier to just hide in plain sight.”

 

“Guess you’re right. At least you get to be comfortable in your own skin. I feel ridiculous. I _look_ ridiculous. I can’t believe you found this.”

 

Hux grinned wickedly. “I know people. And you do not, you look absolutely. . .” he bit his bottom lip as he gave Ben a thorough once-over “ _Doable_. I plan to get plenty of use out of that after tonight. It’s nearly screen accurate, too. Go big or go home.”

 

“Home!” Ben exclaimed enthusiastically, finally restarting the car. “Home sounds like a great idea, let’s go there.”

 

“And disappoint everyone? I should think not,” Hux said haughtily. Rey just _can’t wait_ to meet me.”

 

“Rey . . . wait, what? I didn’t tell anyone I was bringing you. How – ”

 

Hux held Ben’s phone up in his hand with a mischievous smile. “‘You’ just did. You really are careless with this, it’s not even locked.”

 

“Dammit, she’s probably told everyone by now.”

 

“One would hope.”

 

Ben shook his head and trundled down the driveway, joining the row of cars already there. He glanced up at the pillared porch, bedecked in bats and faux cobwebs, then back at Hux. “Let’s go, then. You’re obviously dying to get started on the figurative butt-sniffing.”

 

“So vulgar,” Hux scoffed as he got out of the car, looking at Ben from across the roof as he closed the door. “But _so_ correct.”

 

Ben grimaced, reaching behind the seats of his car and producing the ridiculous resin trident that matched his costume. He pointed it at Hux. “ _Behave_.”

 

Ben had barely raised his hand to knock at the door when it flew open to reveal Rey, beaming, in a blue dress, brown boots, and an intricately plaited blonde wig. “Mother of Dragons,” he nodded, before pulling her into a tight hug.

 

“Aquaman.” She pulled away to get a better look at him. “This is incredible, I didn’t expect you to show up in costume, let alone something like _this._ ” She turned to face Hux. “Did you have something to do with this?”

 

He shrugged, holding his thumb and forefinger a few inches apart at eye level.

 

“I like this one already,” she exclaimed, taking a moment to look at Hux properly. He wasn’t sure if the split second widening of her eyes when she took in his appearance, and his teeth, was due to his overactive imagination. “So you’re the mystery man. Ben didn’t mention a name in his text.”

 

“Armitage. But most people just call me ‘Hux’.”

 

“Hux? Like Hux Pharmaceuticals?”

 

“That would be my father, actually,” Hux winced.

 

“He’s not big on the family business,” Ben explained.

 

“Understandable,” she smiled. “My parents weren’t thrilled with me moving to America to go into – ” She glanced at Ben cautiously. “ . . . automobile restoration. But that’s enough about me!” She said cheerily. “Bad luck to linger in the doorway and all, come inside.”

 

“Absolutely not.” Another man had appeared in the doorway of the foyer behind her, dark-haired, with a pencil-thin mustache and a striped suit, a champagne glass in hand. He spoke again, looking past Rey and Ben, with a steely gaze from eyes met only for Hux. “Don’t you dare invite that thing into this house, look at him. Look at his mouth, you know exactly what he is.”

 

Ben stared at him incredulously. “Poe, what the hell? Calm down, it’s just – ”

 

Poe met Ben’s eyes and they stared at each other for a few tense beats. Rey stood with her hand on Hux’s arm, mortified. Poe slid his glance back to Hux and immediately broke out into a huge grin, laughing.

 

“Gotcha! Haha, I’m sorry, I’m just messin’ with ya.”

 

Ben let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and laughed nervously. “Poe thinks he’s funny.”

 

“Poe is an ass.” An older woman entered the room; she gave off a motherly air, but also a sense of regality that suggested she was not someone to get on the wrong side of. Hux found himself both in admiration and slight fear of her, especially after deducing that she must be Ben’s mother and in turn, the founder of the Resistance. She wore a fairy godmother costume, complete with wand, which she used to whack Poe across the back of the head.

 

“Ow!”

 

“Serves you right. Ben finally brings someone home and you act like the back end of a buffalo.” She approached the doorway and pulled Ben towards her for a hug; he was almost comically taller than she was and had to stoop down to kiss her on the cheek. She turned her attention to Hux, smiling yet also appraising him.

 

“Mom, this is Hux. Hux”, he put an arm around Leia’s shoulders affectionately and pulled her close, “Mom.”

 

Hux extended a hand. “Pleasure’s all mine, I’m sure.”

 

“You have _no idea_.” She took his hand and shook it firmly, turning back to Ben. “He’s _very_ attractive.”

 

“ _Mom!”_ Ben hissed, smiling.

 

“We’ve never really gotten to meet one before, Mr. Hux. He must really like you.” She smiled slyly as Ben tried and failed not to go a flattering shade of red. “You can call me Leia, come on in and make yourself at home.”

 

At her words, Hux strolled in behind her, glancing back over his shoulder and giving Ben a smile that made him more than a little uneasy. While he seemed to have been generally well-received, with Leia especially being taken with his charm, or at least pretending to be, Ben was still on edge about the evening and questioned himself for the twentieth or so time on why exactly he had thought it would be good to bring Hux here. Han and Leia had retired early, as usual, closing themselves off in the Den when Luke arrived sometime later. Luke always seemed to show up at the most opportune times and whisk them away like that. Ben knew he did it on purpose and loved him for it; it had been an especially convenient thing when he was in his teens, hoping for a moment alone with his latest crush or to steal a few of Han’s beers from the fridge to impress his friends.

 

In true fashion, once they had left the younger generations to themselves, almost everyone began to behave a bit badly. Hux was seated next to Rey on a small couch with discomforting familiarity, a smile on his face and a drink in hand. “Ben, I see why you go on about her, she’s an absolute delight. I’m quite upset with you though, why did you never mention she was British?”

 

“He never mentioned you were, either, if it makes you feel better. In face he barely mentioned you at all! Shame on you, Ben!”

 

“It doesn’t make me feel better,” Hux shouted over the music, which was steadily increasing in volume as the night wore on.

 

“Dancing always makes _me_ feel better”, Poe interjected, grabbing Hux by the wrist and pulling him to his feet.

 

“I’m so sorry about him!” Rey laughed. “I’d blame it on the alcohol, but he’s always like this.”

 

“No harm done,” said Hux. “What’s the point in a party with no dancing?” He flashed Ben a mischievous grin as he allowed Poe to drag him to the floor.

 

“Did they just abandon you both to go dance with each other?” Finn asked.

 

“It would appear so,” Rey replied, sipping at her drink with a smirk.

 

“Ironic choice of costume he’s got there, Ben.”

 

“I was thinking the same thing myself,” Rey added.

 

“We can’t all look good in spandex, kid.” Ben nodded at Finn’s admittedly impressive Frozone costume before turning back to Hux, still being held captive by Poe, who seemed to be enjoying himself slightly more than his redheaded dance partner. Ben shot a warning glance at Hux nonetheless, frowning at the way he was halfheartedly grinding his backside against Poe’s front. “Tig!” he snapped.

 

Hux looked up at him with that innocent smug expression. “Darling?”

 

“I said to behave.”

 

“He invited me.”

 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Ben set his drink down on a nearby table and made to retrieve him; Rey caught him by the arm.

 

“Calm down, you know Poe doesn’t mean anything by it.”

 

He sighed, gathering his patience once more. It wasn’t Poe he was worried about.

 

Hux turned to his dance partner apologetically. “I’m afraid I’ll have to give you a raincheck on this one, lest we invoke the wrath of the King of Atlantis.”

 

“No hard feelings, Hux, was it? Hux . . . hugs. Hugs! Can I call you ‘Hugs’?”

 

Hux wrinkled his nose just a little, as if he smelled something unpleasant, before abruptly walking away. “ _No_.”

 

“I’m gonna call him Hugs,” Poe announced to the room at large.

 

Ben found himself swept up by some of his older colleagues, who were on their way out the door. Most of them were gracious enough not to make a jab about his date’s costume. He disliked small talk, however, and was eager to get back to Hux and keep an eye on him. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally bid them farewell at the door, wondering why they couldn’t just join his parents and Luke instead of getting slightly trashed on cheap vodka. He returned in what he would consider the nick of time, to find Hux in a dark corner of the room, his arms around a tipsy and giggling Rose from behind and his face intimately bent towards her neck. He made a ridiculous dash towards them, trident raised, but Tig had cried out in pain before he was even halfway across the room, releasing his embrace on Rose and furiously flapping one hand.

 

“Oh my gosh, Hux I’m _so sorry_!” Rose exclaimed, reaching for his hand. “You’re not bleeding, are you?”

 

“No, no my dear, it was just a pinch. That’s quite a bite you’ve got on you, nonetheless,” he responded, laughing it off.

 

She joined him in nervous laughter, rubbing at his hand where she’d sunk her teeth in. “I’m really, really sorry. It’s . . . it’s silly, but when I’ve had a drink or two, sometimes things are more . . . realistic to me than they should be. Ask Finn, I once punched him in the face because he jumped at me from around a corner.” She glanced hesitantly at Ben, who gave her a pinched smile; the prop was still raised halfway in his hands.

 

“Does Ben have this adorable little issue, too?” Hux asked, glancing sidelong at his boyfriend almost defiantly. “Looks like he was about to beat me with the trident of Neptune. Save that for the bedroom, love.”

 

Ben flushed bright red at the quip, both mortified at the chorus of ‘ _Ooooohs_ ’ and laughter that followed and grateful for the fact that it had managed to break the tension so quickly. It wasn’t long after that Finn cut the music off; more people had started to leave and the ones who remained were comfortably drunk enough to start tugging off parts of their costumes or swapping them out for regular clothes altogether. Poe emerged from the kitchen, having traded the suit of Gomez Addams for a t-shirt and pajama pants, a cup in each hand.

 

“Are you _still_ drinking?” Rey laughed, staring at him incredulously.

 

He smiled and shrugged. “Call it a nightcap. Hey, Hugs! Since you backed out on our dance, at least have a drink with me, I made white Russians.”

 

Hux was slightly annoyed at the moniker, but pulled off his coat nonetheless and accepted the offer, joining Poe where he sat on a loveseat in the overlarge living room, now dark except for the cozy glow of the fireplace. Finn and Rose had opted to retire to a spare room while Ben and Rey sat comfortably on the couch that faced the hearth. The latter two watched in quiet amusement as Hux and Poe had a very animated conversation about everything and nothing.

 

“Watch out for Mr. Steal-Your-Man over there,” she mumbled, tucking herself up under Ben’s arm and pulling her knees up.

 

“Nah,” Ben replied. “Like you said earlier, it’s harmless.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and resting his cheek on her head. “How was your birthday trip, by the way? I haven’t seen you since you got back.”

 

“Barcelona was _amazing_ ,” she exclaimed. “I still can’t believe you all did that, you’re too good for me.”

 

“You deserve it, kid.” He smiled down at her fondly, kissing her forehead.

 

“Leia told me it was your idea.”

 

“Maybe”, he winked.

 

“I owe you so much, Ben.”

 

He laughed softly, yawning. “You’re the kid sister my parents never gave me, It’s what any big brother worth a damn would do”

 

She looked up at him mischievously. “Does that mean I get to be best woman at your wedding?”

 

“What wedding?” He asked, feigning grumpiness. “You know I’m not the marrying type.”

 

“If you say so.” She turned her eyes to the loveseat again; Hux was gesturing eloquently, appearing to be in the middle of explaining something he was obviously passionate about, while Poe sat across from him, enthralled but struggling to stay awake. “I do like him, and not just because he’s a Brit. Although he is a bit . . .” she sighed, struggling to find the right words.”

 

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Arrogant, dandified, a self-absorbed pain in the ass? You can be honest, it’s nothing I don’t already know,” he chuckled.

 

She laughed too. “Well no, at least I wasn’t going to _say_ exactly that. There’s just . . . something almost sinister about him.”

 

Ben remained calm despite his heart suddenly hammering away in his chest. “Just your professional bias getting in the way. I really did try to talk him out of that costume. Even if he did realize it was in poor taste, he’d have worn it anyways. He’s a bit of a drama queen.”

 

“Payback for that horrible goth phase you went through”, she slurred, her head having sunk onto his chest as sleep and alcohol consumption caught up to her.

 

“That’s fair,” Ben nodded, fondly stroking her hair before nudging her just a bit. “Look,” he whispered. She had to put a hand over her mouth to stop the laugh that almost escaped. Poe and Hux were now both fast asleep in the loveseat, Hux slumped down with his long arms wrapped around Poe’s torso, head against his chest and mouth lolled open, the deceptively theatrical fangs out in plain sight. One of Poe’s hands rested protectively on the top of his red head. Rey and Ben reluctantly got up and woke them, but not before taking a satisfactory amount of pictures from several different angles.

 

“Jesus, Poe, what’d you put in those drinks?” Ben asked as Hux, half-awake, leaned against him, hugging him tightly. “He’s normally a night person, this is early for him.”

 

“Dameron family secret”, he winked.

 

“If you say so,” Ben said groggily. “Can you make it up the stairs, Tig?”

 

Hux slipped behind him, placed his hands atop his shoulders and leapt, arms around his neck and legs wrapped around his waist. “Yes.”

 

Ben rolled his eyes as he reached back and tucked his hands under Hux’s thighs. “Goodnight, guys.”

 

“Well _that_ was convincing,” he droned after he had closed his old bedroom door.

 

“ _I_ thought so,” Hux retorted, sliding from his place on Ben’s back, quite awake and alert now. “Although I do feel a bit tipsy if I’m honest.”

 

“That shit with Rose wasn’t cute,” Ben snapped, rounding on him.

 

“It’s a holiday, I was only playing the part,” he simpered.

 

“You’re lucky she only bit you.” He sighed. “I knew this was a bad idea.” He was huffing in frustration, trying to get a hold of the zipper at the back of his neck. “Get me out of this thing, would you?”

 

“It was _your_ bad idea,” Hux replied softly, tugging the zipper down and helping him peel the costume off. “We’ve both almost exclusively followed through with poor choices since we met. Although I must say,” he sat on the bed to pull off his own boots, “this particular one of yours tonight was _egregiously_ bad.”

 

Ben, stripped down to his boxers, sank onto the mattress beside him and placed a hand on either side of Hux’s face. “I don’t think of you as a bad choice.”

 

“I know.” He put his hands on Ben’s wrists, stroking his thumbs over his hands. “You know I wouldn’t have hurt any of them, right? Do you trust me so little?”

 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, caressing the back of his neck and combing his fingers through the shiny red hair. Hux leaned into him, head against his shoulder.

 

“Ben . . .” he began tentatively, almost miserably. “I’m thirsty.” He felt himself pulled even closer, as if in warning.

 

“There’s bottled water in my gym bag.”

 

“You know that’s not what I mean.” He felt the tight grasp on him loosen and Ben looked him hard in the eyes for several moments, the hand at his neck suggesting the smallest amount of pressure and that broad chest expanding with shaky breaths. Ben closed his eyes, tilting his head back and steadily pulling Hux closer to his own exposed neck.

 

Hux’s breath hitched and he immediately threw his hands out in resistance.

 

“No!” he hissed.

 

Ben only shuddered and tried pulling him closer as Hux struggled against him. “Just take it,” he pleaded, fingers now painfully grasping a handful of Hux’s hair. “Take just enough, I’ll be fine.” Hux managed to wriggle one hand free and slapped him sharply across the face.

 

“ _Stupid_ boy! I won’t!”

 

“Why not?” Ben growled.

 

“Shh, you’ll wake the whole house, have you gone mad? Let go of me!”

 

Ben’s face twisted with frustration and pleading for a short moment before he did as he was asked, shoving Hux away with unnecessary force.

 

Hux made quick work of his shirt and pants and rummaged in Ben’s bag for the spare set of clothes he’d mentioned he brought for him. After hastily pulling them on, he returned to Ben’s side, gently grasping his face and forcing him to meet his eyes.

 

“We’re going to lie down, you’re going to sleep, and we’re going to pretend you didn’t just propose what you did, at least not here.”

 

Ben jerked his face out of Hux’s hands and flopped onto the bed, arms crossed, facing away from him. Hux reached for him tentatively, ultimately deciding to withdraw his hand. He sighed deeply, awkwardly tugging his boots back on and heading back downstairs.

 

Ben’s dreams were troubled that night, and as much as he wanted to blame the liquor, of which he hadn’t really partaken in much, something else nagged at him.

 

He was wearing his hunter’s clothes, long leather trenchcoat and knee high boots, as well as the leather and metal mask of his own design that resembled a muzzle. He strode through the chilly woods just outside his parents’ home, everything cast in an eerie blue light, the monster he’d been tracking was only just out of reach, he could feel it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention and a split second later, he spun around, taking a step back and turned to face it where it dropped from a tree branch above, landing just where he’d been standing, no doubt having intended to accost him.

It was squat and male, with muscular arms and silver stubble covering the face, which would have seemed amiable if not for the thick fangs protruding from beneath the lip, bigger than he was used to seeing. It made a leap for him and he slashed at it with his blade, opening the throat, causing a shower of crimson to gush messily out of the wound. It went down, gasping in anger, feebly clutching at his leg in one last attempt to bring him down. He placed a foot firmly on the chest to hold it in place while he reached into the inner pockets of his coat and retrieved a stake with casual coldness. This was what he’d been born to do, what his mother had done before him, what she and Luke had trained him to do since he was old enough to swing a blade and hold a gun. He bent over the gurgling monster now, crossing himself out of habit more than necessity before plunging the wood into its heart. It finally ceased movement and the unnatural teeth were gone without a trace, and now as he crouched down, he saw the face of a human man, tired and sad. He wondered what sort of a life he’d had before he was turned; did his coworkers wonder why he had stopped showing up after decades of dedication to his job? Was there a wife, children, grandchildren at home, hearts broken and missing him? Or perhaps his story was an even sadder one, riddled with bad decisions and substance abuse? It didn’t matter now.

He pulled his mask up and reached into a pocket on the opposite side of the coat from where he kept his weapons and pulled out a granola bar, tearing off the wrapper and cramming it into his mouth in two bites. Crass? Certainly, but who was there to see him? He stuffed the wrapper back into his pocket and stood up, raising the sword above his head and bringing it down in a steady slice, severing head from body. He never much cared for this part, but had learned the hard way that it was a necessity. He could still hear his mother’s terrified screams, encouraging him to run faster; he had tripped and fallen, certain he was about to die, the weight of the stinking undead falling down on him, when gunfire rang in his ears. He had lay there trembling for several moments when the weight was heaved off him and he was being pulled in three directions at once, eventually wrenched away by his father, who had fired the killing shots, and pulled into his arms, not letting go for nearly an hour. They laughed about it now, and it was always a fun anecdote for new recruits, but Han had been furious at the time, cursing Luke and Leia both and vowing to never let Ben hunt again. He smiled now at the memory, sucking bits of chocolate and peanuts from his teeth and replacing the bloodied sword at his side. Reaching into yet another pocket, he produced a thick cloth sack and squatted down, gingerly reaching a gloved hand out to retrieve the severed head. He immediately startled and fell backwards onto his rump, desperately flinging it away and scrabbling backward in horror.

 

“No. No. _No, no, no, no no_!Fuck!” he shrieked, bile rising in his throat. Where once the old grizzled vampire had been, with dark brown eyes and stubble on the cheeks, the face was now younger and pale, clean shaven, with red hair.

 

He got to his feet, shaking, running away on legs that wobbled under his weight, only making it a few dozen yards before he stopped and leaned against a tree, throwing his mask down and pressing his face into the rough bark. _“What have I done, what have I done, what have I done?”_ he repeated over and over.

 

“What _have_ you done? Why did you kill him? You _cared_ for him!” A woman had appeared in the pathway of the woods, tall and pale with dark hair that reached her knees.

 

“I’m _sorry_!” he gasped. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think it was him, I didn’t know.”

 

“‘Sorry’ won’t bring him back!” she shouted, tears running down her face.

 

He slid miserably to the ground into a tangle of dead, thorny vines that clung to him and pricked at his skin even through his thick clothes. The woman squatted down beside him, a hand on his head, long nails caressing his scalp. She brought her face close to his and he forced himself to look at her, eyes widening in horror when she smiled bitterly; revealing unnaturally pointed incisors. “You’ll pay for what you did, Kylo Ren.” Her lips parted further, poised over his throat, and she closed in quickly.

 

It was instinct that made him reach for his sword, and dumb luck that let him recklessly hit his target. For the second time that night, he spilled the blood of the undead, relief flooding his body and pity tugging at his heart as he watched her go down and then in another split second, she too had changed, and it was Hux who crumpled before him. Ben’s scream was raw with grief as he crawled towards him, cradling him in his arms as he helplessly tried putting pressure on his throat where the blood relentlessly poured out.

 

“Hux, Hux . . . _Tig_. Tig, I’m so sorry.” He rocked back and forth, his eyes streaming, pulling Hux against his chest.

 

“Ben . . . why?” The look of betrayal in the blue-green eyes made Ben feel as if his heart was about to implode.

 

“It . . . it wasn’t you.”

 

Hux placed a cold hand on his wrist and squeezed. “It was _always_ me. A part of you knew that.” He laughed and immediately coughed, blood gushing from his mouth and dribbling down the sides of his face. “I told you this didn’t have a happy ending.”

 

Ben shook his head defiantly, his face running with tears and snot. “It still can. Come back to me, please.”

 

“Well I would, if you’d let me. Let me back in.” He stared up at Ben, the light quickly fading from his eyes. “I’m cold. I’m so cold.”

 

The world spun around him and went dark and then light again, Hux’s dying words ringing in his ears. _‘It’s so cold. Let me in.’_

 

He awoke with a start, tangled in the sheets and eyes wet with tears. He hastily rubbed at them and his childhood bedroom came into view; he was dumbly taking it all in, his heart slowing as he recalled where he was and why, when a noise caused his pulse to resume racing. He whipped his head towards the window, where the sharp rapping had come from, both bemused and relieved to see Hux starting at him miserably from the other side.

 

“Ben!” he hissed. “Ben, let me in, it’s freezing out here!”

 

He raced to the window and unlatched it, taking Hux by the wrists and pulling him inside, too pleased to see him to immediately care about the absurdity of the situation. Hux opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could leave him, he found himself pulled into a tight and intimate embrace, Ben’s face buried against his neck, one hand stroking his hair firmly, the other arm held him by the shoulders as if he never intended to let go.

 

“What’s this about?” he whispered softly against Ben’s cheek. Ben only took a shuddering breath and squeezed him tighter, pressing noisy, desperate kisses next to his ear in response. Hux sighed patiently, wriggling one hand free and rubbing the small of Ben’s back. “You’re being weird and I wish you wouldn’t. Have you been _crying_?”

 

“It’s . . . I just.”

 

“Are you angry at me again?”

 

Ben pulled back, cupping one cheek, stroking Hux’s face with his thumb. “Why would I be?”

 

“I’ve been out. I bit someone.”

 

Ben shook his head dismissively, pressing their foreheads together. “I don’t care.”

 

That was certainly not the response Hux had expected, and at the moment he felt he would have preferred a judgmental scolding. “You’ve had too much to drink, let’s get you back to bed, shall we?” Ben nodded at him, scooping him into his arms and dropping him onto the tumble of tangled sheets. Hux sighed as he tried to put the bed into some kind of order and glanced back at the window, still open wide, the frigid air pouring into the room unwelcomed. “We should probably close that first.”

 

“Oh, right.” Ben quickly closed the window and refastened the latch, taking two steps back towards the bed when he doubled back and stared downwards, eyes wide. It was then that he remembered this particular window had no balcony, no ledge, not even a meager windowsill for an outdoor plant. In fact it was a sheer drop, three stories down, with nothing to grasp except the smooth, blue-grey vinyl siding that covered the rest of the house. He looked back at Hux quizzically, met with the hints of an impish smile in return.

 

“ _Guess what I can do_ ”, he whispered with sing-song inflection, like a child who had just had the training wheels taken off his bike.

 

“Tell me no one saw you”, he replied wearily as he climbed into bed, helping to unwind the mess he’d made of the covers.

 

“I doubt it, everyone here is asleep or passed out and we’re miles from civilization. Truth be told, I didn’t think it would work, but the front door apparently – ”

 

“Automatically locks behind you after a certain hour, yes. I forgot to tell you, didn’t expect you’d sneak out like that.”

 

“Yes, well,” Hux replied, tugging the covers over them, finally having gotten them back in order, “I didn’t realize we’d be staying the night, it would hardly do for me to show up to breakfast looking like the Brat Prince.”

 

“I suppose not.”

 

“ _You_ suppose,” he scoffed. “Bringing me here was reckless, you know. After all that talk about me drawing attention to myself.”

 

“Like you said, hide in plain sight. But next time don’t play the part so well. Rose is still a rookie but I’ve seen her inflict impressive damage – don’t let her size, or sweet disposition fool you.”

 

Hux huffed out a little laugh at being fed his own words, rolling onto his side and putting his arms loosely around Ben’s neck. “I’m loathe to admit it, but I like your people. Most of them, anyways.”

 

“Think they might have liked you, too. A lot. Just don’t go scaling up the side of the house anymore, ok?”

 

Hux couldn’t resist the wide smile that broke onto his face. “It was _exhilarating_ ”, he whispered. “As I said, I didn’t think it would work, but I was stuck out there, so what the hell? And up I went, as easy as walking on pavement. Why didn’t I try _years_ ago?”

 

“Yeah.” Ben pulled him close, and wriggled down, pressing his face into the crook of Hux’s neck and inhaling deeply. “You’d be able to pull off one hell of a Spiderman cosplay.”

 

“Hmm.” Hux raked his fingers through Ben’s hair. “Are you going to tell me why you were acting so strangely a few moments ago?”

 

Ben snaked his arms around him snugly and pressed a lingering kiss to his neck. “Nope.”

 

* * *

 

Ben awoke once more to an empty bed the following morning, rubbing at his eyes as he trudged lazily down the stairs and stopping dead at the sight greeting him upon entering the kitchen. Hux sat at the table, Rey and Leia on either side of him, steaming mugs of coffee in front of each of them.

 

“There you are!” Rey beamed. She’d always had far too much enthusiasm in the mornings. “We were just about to start breakfast, your Dad and Luke will be back any minute now.

 

“From _where_? It’s the ass crack of dawn.”

 

“The shop,” Leia replied. “Luke just _had_ to go see the latest piece of junk your father’s acquired. And it’s nearly ten in the morning, that’s hardly the ‘ass crack’ of dawn,” she smirked.

 

“That Mustang he told me about? It’s not a piece of junk, it’s a classic.”

 

“He had to tow it in. If you can’t drive it, it’s junk.”

 

“If you say so, Mom,” Ben smiled, hugging her. Han had been flipping cars since she met him, and had made a decent name for himself doing it. Not quite as lucrative as the income the Resistance brought in, but she hadn’t started that with profit in mind.

 

Breakfast had been only slightly uncomfortable; Ben had always been nervous introducing new friends to his father and uncle, and he hadn’t brought a partner home since his awkward high school days. He had almost been glad now for Hux’s little excursion the night before and cursed himself yet again for bringing him here. He’d seen the undead go crazy with bloodlust before, murder their own loved ones without realizing until it was too late. He’d also seen every last person at the table, save for Hux, of course, end the life of said undead with hardly a flinch or regret. The thought of either happening right now made him sick to his stomach and he tried not to recall his nightmare from earlier. He was brought out of his unpleasant pondering by Luke’s voice.

 

“Ben, you haven’t been down to see it yet? C’mon and finish up, we can go now.”

 

“Oh . . . right now?” he stammered. “I dunno, Luke, I’ve got. . .” he glanced at Hux.

 

“Not much of a car guy?” Luke grinned.

 

“Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air?” Leia asked sardonically. “Armitage can stay with us,” she grinned placing a hand over his and squeezing. Hux leered at Ben, who felt his heart trying to escape through his throat.

 

“Go on, Ben,” Rey encouraged. "Hux and I decided we’re going to the salon for manicures.”

 

“ _Manicures_?” Ben parroted hoarsely, glaring at Hux, who continued to sit as innocently as possible.

 

“Maybe pedicures, too. We haven’t decided yet,” Hux shrugged.

 

Ben was pulled quite literally out of his stupor by Han’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“You can get _your_ nails done later. Come look at my new project.”

 

He continued to glare daggers at Hux as Han all but dragged him out the back door.

 

“It’s as if he thinks we’ll all tear each other to pieces the minute he’s out of sight,” Rey laughed. “He’s always been a bit strange.”

 

“Trust me, he’s made no effort of keeping secrets about who he is since the night we met.”

 

“Hasn’t he?” Rey asked, exchanging a quick glance with Leia that made Hux want to squirm just a bit. “Anyways!” she declared, “Off we go, just let me run up stairs for a moment.”

 

She returned quickly, her face giddy as she dangled a set of keys in her fingers. _Ben’s keys_.

 

Sensing the trepidation by the look on his face, Leia spoke up. “I know what you’re thinking, it’ll be fine. They pull this crap on each other all the time and she’s got him wrapped around her finger, anyways.”

 

“I’ll take your word for it.”

 

“A wise choice,” she quipped. “Have fun. Rey, I say this every time but _don’t_ damage that car. He’s as stupid as Han when it comes to his ‘baby’.”

* * *

 

 

They had cruised along for a few minutes in an oddly comfortable silence, Rey obviously thoroughly enjoying being at the wheel of Ben’s car, smile widening every time she guided it around a curve or accelerated, sporadically singing along to the music streaming from her phone to the custom audio system.

 

“ _Baby I’m sorry, I’m not sorry!_ – Just stop me when we need to turn off, Hux!”

 

“Of course,” he smiled, genuinely enjoying the way _she_ seemed to be enjoying having stolen Ben’s car. She’d offered to stop by his house to get him a decent set of clothes so as to not drag him in public ‘in nothing but your jim-jams’.

 

“So,” she began, turning the radio down after her song was over, “I’m sure you knew this was coming, but spill the beans. How did you and Ben meet? How on earth have you managed to keep him this long? Is he good to you? Are you good to _him_?”

 

“Not wasting any time, are you?”

 

“Talk.” Her demeanor was friendly but he sensed impatience.

 

“Ah. That tacky brewery down on 9th. Second question, not really sure, he did most of the pursuing, he’s . . .” he paused suddenly, as if only just realizing it himself. “He’s better than I deserve, I can be difficult.” he nodded. “Yeah, yeah you could say that. I try to be good to him, although we do disagree from time to time. Take a left here.”

 

“Good,” she nodded. “I’m sorry if I come across as aggressive, but Ben’s very special to me. I never had any siblings growing up and my parents, as I might have mentioned last night are . . . less than present. I was in a bad place when Ben found me and while Han and Leia more or less scooped me up and unofficially adopted me, Ben’s always been my rock. I get a little protective sometimes, and him being so sullen and mysterious all the time doesn’t help.”

 

“It goes both ways, you know,” Hux smiled. “He talks about you quite often, thinks pretty highly of your opinion. I’m the third house on the right here, there we are.”

 

“It’s lovely,” she smiled, glancing up at the sizable home and well-manicured yard.

 

“Thank you, I’m quite fond of it myself. One of the first things I came by in life honestly.”

 

“How do you mean?”

 

He winced just a bit. “When one’s spent their entire life being mocked because Daddy’s handed you everything on a plate . . . let’s just say it wasn’t money from Hux Pharmaceuticals that paid for this. Dad didn’t appreciate me taking a _common_ job, let alone three of them. Or that I turned down a scholarship from Imperial College London and chose to get my education in America. Dad and I don’t speak much,” he shook his head.

 

“Armitage, I’m so sorry. That is admirable of you, though.”

 

“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively, just before his eyes wandered to his front yard. “Goddammit, Millie, not again!” He quickly whipped the seat belt off and got out of the car, jogging across the yard in a strange combination of sleepwear, riding boots, and a frock coat and scooping something up from behind the bushes. Rey followed him curiously, smiling when stood back up with the fluffy orange cat in his arms.

 

“How sweet! Millie, is it?”

 

“Millicent, technically. Sweet when she’s not being a pain in my arse. She was geared up to leave another dead animal in the bed. Bugger, my keys.”

 

“Which pocket?”

 

“Left.”

 

“Ah . . . pants,” he blurted awkwardly, as she dug around in the coat pocket.

 

“Oh! Here we are, then.” She held the keys up triumphantly, having had no hesitation about going straight into the pajama bottoms, and made for the door.

 

“Let’s not mention to Ben you had your hand in my pants. I’m not sure which one of us he’d be more upset with.”

 

“Of course not,” she winked. “You can trust me, I’m good with secrets.”

 

His smile faltered as he headed upstairs, Millie still in his arms. “Right,” he nodded. “Give me just a moment, will you?”

 

“Take your time!”

 

He retreated quickly, torn between discomfort at a new person and how unexpectedly pleasant he found his new companion. His heart sank, he now felt guilty for involving yet another innocent human with the uncertainty that was his existence. He frowned at his reflection as he hastily washed his face and threw a fresh set of clothes on.

 

‘ _Since when did you start_ caring _, Hux?’_

 

Apathy had quickly become his default emotion since he’d had his humanity stripped from him some years ago, followed only by greed, and he thought his fondness for Ben had been a fluke, fueled by lust and a mutual loneliness, a sense of not really fitting in with the rest of the world. The petite, lithe woman sitting downstairs should mean nothing to him. He put on his best effort at a friendly smile as he trotted down the stairs, having swapped out his ridiculous mash-up of clothes for a pair of tailored jeans, a simple button down shirt, and gray suede loafers.

 

“Better?” she asked teasingly.

 

“Much,” he replied, pulling on his pea coat and opening the door for her, hoping he didn’t seem too eager to get her out of his house. She handed him his keys back and he locked the door behind them. No words were exchanged as they got back into Ben’s car and backed out of the drive to head down the street towards town.

 

“I have to admit, Hux – I like you, really I do, and I’ve told Ben as much. He’s obviously crazy about you. But I’m going to ask you one more question. Can you promise me an honest answer?”

 

He looked at her expectantly.

 

“How long has he known you’re a vampire?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger warning: Ben's nightmare involves blood, beheading, staking, and the death of a loved one**
> 
> Ben is so stupid and oblivious and I love him. Hux in this story is inspired partially by a very dear friend of mine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux continues to pursue the truth of what he is, torn between embracing and making peace with his inhuman nature. It doesn't go as well as he'd like.

 

Hux weighed his options carefully as the car continued down the street, vehicles passing by blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding inside the shiny black car as it sped on past them. On one hand, he could deny it, and laugh it off, which would probably end up getting him, and consequently, Ben, in more trouble down the line. Another option was to simply unfasten his seat belt, unlock the door, and fling himself into the street. If he got a little bruised or even hit, it was nothing a day’s rest and a good gorge wouldn’t be able to remedy. His third option, and the one he ultimately went with, was to just concede.

 

He did so without words at first, gaze flicking downwards to avoid hers, and then blankly at the road ahead. He looked now more like the lecher from two nights ago than the jovial brat who managed to win half the Resistance over with his charms. Rey allowed him to stay quiet for another half-mile or so before turning to him; he didn’t think it was possible for someone to glower and still seem gentle, but she was somehow managing.

 

“I need you to answer my question.”

 

“Since about five minutes after we laid eyes on each other,” he scowled. “Now take me back home. Please.”

 

All of the amiability that had built between them since the night before seemed to have been coldly withdrawn. Hux wasn’t sure he wanted to coax it back out now, and gave a start when he felt a hand on his own, snatching it away and glaring at her suspiciously.

 

“You needn’t be troubled, at least for the time being,”she said quietly. “I’m not going to hurt you and I’m not going to tell anyone.”

 

“Thank you.” His tone was dry.

 

“Don’t thank me just yet. Know that I meant it when I said I liked you, but I’m doing this for Ben. Heaven only knows what sort of trouble he’d be in if this got out, and even Leia would only be able to do so much to protect him. Every group has its vigilantes,” she added darkly.

 

“I’m guessing he was right then, about me drawing attention to myself,” he replied bitterly. “What gave me away?”

 

“Call it a sixth sense. There was just something about you. Although,” she smirked, “There was no denying it after I saw you stuck to the wall outside last night.”

 

He worried at his lip, ears going pink. How could he have been so reckless?

 

“So yeah,” she added, hesitantly reaching over and patting him on the arm. “You don’t have to admit to him he was right, but maybe heed a warning now and then.”

 

“Are you going to tell him that you know?”

 

“I’d rather not, as I’m afraid it’d spook him, but ultimately I’ll leave that up to you, at least for now.”

 

Hux nodded solemnly. “I’d like to keep this between us.”

 

“Smart man,” she said, her tone light but not without warning. “Look at us, agreeing on things.” She turned to look at him, expression caught somewhere between innocent fledgling and someone who had already seen and experienced too much for her age. “I think we’re going to be _very_ good friends, Mr. Hux.”

 

“So you can keep an eye on me.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “Only partially. Is it that hard for you to believe I’d actually like you? Disregarding the whole ‘mortal enemies’ thing, you’re delightful.”

 

He looked at her skeptically.

 

“Don’t you have any friends besides Ben?” she asked incredulously.

 

“One,” he shrugged. “She’s a bit bonkers but she’s been with me through some dark times.”

 

“Does _she_ know?”

 

“Hence what I meant by dark times,” he nodded, smiling softly. “She was ready to have me committed at one point, which was hurtful, but forgivable.” He turned to her with pleading. “Again now, take me back home?”

 

“What? _No_! Do you know how hard it is to find someone willing to go to the nail bar with me?”

 

He turned away quickly, looking out the passenger’s side window to hide his smile.

 

* * *

 

“Do you know what’s unfair?” Hux asked quietly that afternoon in Ben’s apartment, grabbing Ben’s arm and pulling it around his shoulders.

 

“That’s a loaded question.” He halfheartedly flicked through the TV channels.

 

Hux gently snatched the remote from him and turned the set off. “That you know more about what I am than I do.” He stared at Ben, slightly pleading.

 

“You’re Hux. You’re one of my favorite people.”

 

“I said what I am, not who I am. Don’t play dumb, no matter how good at it you are.”

 

“You’re thinking about how you defied physics last night, aren’t you?”

 

“You _knew_ I could do that, and you never told me.”

 

Ben leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. “You’re already so reckless, why would I give you a reason to be even worse?”

 

Hux leaned forward, hand on Ben’s chest. “It’s not your decision to make.” He frowned, scooting away just a bit. “I didn’t choose this existence, you know.”

 

Ben got up wordlessly and left the room. Hux was startled from his sulking by the sound of several books being dropped onto the coffee table. “Against my better judgment, but those are a good place to start.” Ben sat back down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Abilities ...” he murmured “...manifest differently for different individuals, there’s really no set-in-stone schedule that dictates when you can scale a wall, or anything else. Some never do anything more than feed and sleep.” He shook his head. “This is really more Luke’s area of expertise.”

 

“Well,” Hux said, picking up one of the books; they were large and ancient, “It’s not as if I can go traipsing off to your uncle and ask him for lessons.” He turned the book over in his hand, the green cloth cover worn and slightly tattered. _Study of the Vampyr_ , it read in gold lettering. He opened it to find a name and year written on the inside cover in a bold, stylish hand.

 

_Anakin Skywalker_

 

_1958_

 

“You’ll see that in a lot of my books,” Ben said fondly.

 

“This one was published in 1898.”

 

“Yeah, it’s old. It was also my Grandfather’s, be careful with it.”

 

Hux carded his newly manicured fingers casually through the first few pages. “Thank you, Ben,” he said softly.

 

“Just don’t make me regret it,” he replied, putting an arm around his shoulders.

 

Hux spent most of the remaining day engrossed in the first book, hardly putting it down until he heard Ben return from the gym after dark. He had been somewhat ashamed at his former apathy towards his condition from the moment he glimpsed the table of contents. While some things came as no surprise, like the increased ability to charm, especially though eye contact, and the almost sexual euphoria that came with consuming blood, others were baffling. Familiars, flight, _shape-shifting_? He inwardly scolded himself for wasting time not being curious about these things sooner, when he realized it wasn’t as if he had limited time to begin with. But still, so many years simply spent feeding and hoarding money and sitting idly like so many other millions of people.

 

“Feeling enlightened?” Ben asked, dropping his gym bag on the floor and locking the door behind himself.

 

“Overwhelmingly so.”

 

“Don’t overdo it.” He bent forward, a hand planted on the back of the couch on either side of Hux, kissing him gently on the lips. Hux reciprocated but pulled away with his lip curled in distaste.

 

“You stink.”

 

“You like it,” Ben smirked.

 

“Don’t flatter yourself. I may enjoy removing it from you, but I have never been inclined to be fond of your post-workout foulness.” He looked up reluctantly to see Ben staring at him imploringly, eyes wide, lower lip jutted out pathetically. “ _Fine_ ”, he rolled his eyes, closing the book and placing it on the table.

 

Twenty minutes later found them relaxed in the bathtub, Hux having given Ben a quick scrub down before filling the tub with almost unbearably hot water and bubble bath, and lighting a few candles. For all of Ben’s sexual aggression, he was just as fond, if not more, of quiet times like this, clutching Hux’s naked body against his chest, their fingers laced together, dipping his head down now and again to kiss the top of his head or take in the scent of his hair.

 

“Hux . . .” he murmured softly.

 

“Yes, darling?” he inquired, bracing himself mentally. The use of ‘Hux’ instead of ‘Tig’ suggested a less than casual or sickly sweet conversation was about to take place.

 

“Why?”

 

“Of the two of us,” Hux smiled softly, turning to look at him, “you’re the only one capable of reading minds. I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

 

“Why didn’t you take it, what I offered you last night?” His voice was low, tone solemn.

 

Hux let out a long sigh, adjusting himself so he could look at his companion properly. “Several reasons, the first being how absurdly brash, foolish, and if I may add, disrespectful it would be to feed on the son of the Resistance’s matriarch, right under her own roof, with half a dozen or more hunters sleeping meters away. Even _I’m_ not that eager to tempt fate. Secondly and most importantly,” he took Ben’s chin in his hand for emphasis, “You’re more to me than a food source, a familiar.” He felt himself going uncharacteristically hot at the neck.

 

“But that first night . . .”

 

“Was a blessed anomaly. It makes me sick now to think what I’d planned for you then. Although we both know that you probably would have ended me first. That one of us _didn’t_ end up killing the other is a miracle in and of itself.”

 

Ben nodded. “I could have killed you easily. That’s why I worry when you go out all the time.” He gently bit at Hux’s ear. “Next guy might be biased. The Resistance isn’t the only organization that does what we do.”

 

“Exactly. Do you understand now why I want to know more about what I’ve become? What I continue to become?”

 

“Yeah,” he responded, reluctantly, pulling Hux close and pressing their cheeks together. “I just don’t like it.”

 

Hux nuzzled against him, running a hand through his lank and dripping hair. “Life’s not always fair, love. I’m afraid with me, it’s not quite as simple as blocking up the cat door.”

 

* * *

“How was your weekend? Better than mine, I hope.” Phasma sat across from him at their favorite delicatessen Monday evening, in the usual corner booth, the lighting cozy and dim.

He raised his eyebrows, lazily stirring his coffee. “Depends how you look at it, I suppose. Were you strong-armed into going to your boyfriends’ parents house and then chastised for having a good time?”

“You’re kidding, Captain Elusive let you meet his _parents_?”

“And his coworkers, and his uncle, _and_ his adopted sister. Slayers, the lot of them.”

“You’re still alive.”

“Barely. Now you tell me, how does that compare to your weekend?”

“Preferable. Nothing but bloody complaints from Friday to late last night. Trick-or-treaters going to every door in the complex, three different units trying to hold massive parties, at least one of which was the cause of two floors reeking of marijuana. I’m on a first name basis with half the police department now.”

“Not a total loss, then. I know how you are about a man in uniform,” he said knowingly, casting her a sly look from the edge of his cup.

“I did get a number,” she confessed, slightly giddy.

“And _there_ it is.”

“And there it is,” she agreed, taking a bite of her sandwich. He observed her thoughtfully for a few moments.

“Phasma?”

“Armitage.”

“I don’t say it enough, or at least I haven’t said it in a while, but thank you for putting up with me all these years, I know I can be a real bellend sometimes.”

“ _Sometimes_?” She laughed.

He rolled his eyes. “What I’m trying to say is – I’m glad I’ve got you.”

“Hux, don’t be _weird_. It’s not like you to go all soft on me like this.”

He glared at her.

“Fine, I love you too. Bloodsucking twit. I missed you this weekend, are we going out for something a bit more exciting after this? Ben’s invited, of course.”

Hux’s mind dwelt on the borrowed tomes currently residing on his coffee table. “Not tonight, I’m afraid. I’ve got some personal things I’d like to catch up on.”

* * *

He sat in his study that evening, brows furrowed, absentmindedly, gnawing on a pen as he paged through another of Anakin’s old books. While _Study of the Vampyr_ was informative enough from an outside view, it was frustratingly unhelpful as an instructive tool. The second book in the stack, bound in stained yellow, was devoid of title, long since worn away by age and use, proved to be no better. The third, bound in red and titled _Incubi, Lycanthropes and Vampires_ had a promising table of contents, but the pages of the most relevant ones had been ripped out. He slammed it shut impatiently, wondering if Ben had more stashed away in his apartment, or if he could somehow manage to find something more useful in Organa or Skywalker’s personal libraries. He pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts and stopping at the most recently added: Rey Wingate. His thumb hovered over her name for a few seconds before he ultimately decided to just stow the device back in his pocket. He may have been fond of the girl, but was not ready to trust her just yet. He was roused from his musings by a small _crunch_ followed by the unpleasant sensation of broken plastic in his mouth.

“ _Shit!_ ” The pen had cracked to pieces between his teeth and his shirt was now blotted with wet, black stains that bloomed larger by the second. He quickly un-tucked the shirt from his pants, counting it as lost anyways, and wound the excess fabric around the shattered pieces to stop the ink from making a larger mess than it already had. He tossed both items into the bathroom garbage, sighing with resignation and annoyance when he caught his reflection in the mirror; he flipped on the hot water tap and grabbed a washcloth, alternating between scrubbing at his face where ink dribbled ridiculously from one corner of his mouth and spitting even more of the stuff out. He had gotten most of the mess cleaned to his satisfaction when he glimpsed the traitorous pointed teeth, having made their usual appearance, as long and prominent as ever.

“There you are,” he said to the mirror. “As you have been almost every night, for nearly seven years now.”

He had glimpsed a passage in the first book that mentioned some vampires being able to retract the fangs at will, which is what he had spent the better part of his evening poring over with no success. Then again, he had scaled the wall easily enough, with no guidance, simply because he wanted to. Perhaps this was no different.

Squaring his shoulders, he leaned against the counter, glowering at his own reflection with defiance, determination. He focused all of his concentration on this one thing, this one thing that he wanted, willing the cursed appendages away, furious at their unperturbed presence with each passing second until he shook with the effort. As much as he thought he desired their absence, the familiar bloodlust rushed in as if connected with the very beat of his heart, clouding his concentration and overriding his desire to control with the desire to drink. He hadn’t fed since sneaking out Saturday night and it was taking a toll on him, the want for blood on his tongue insatiable and heady. He tried one final time to tame it, trembling heavily now, skin aglow with a sheen of sweat, lips wet with drool.

He slammed his fists against the counter, roaring in anger, breath coming in gasps as he slowly raised his head to glimpse himself; the fangs were close to protruding past his bottom lip now and nearly prevented him from properly closing his mouth, the cerulean irises of his eyes had paled to nearly white, and seemed to have increased in size, pupils reduced to the tiniest of specks. He reached out, fingers brushing against the mirror in horror at his own visage, tears of exertion dripping from the otherworldly eyes.

He stubbornly choked back a sob; the attempt may have failed, but he wouldn’t cry about it, at least not yet. Taking a few deep, steadying breaths, he straightened his body, hastily brushing the wetness from his face and heading for the door, slipping into a coat and snatching up his car keys. He sped aimlessly down the highway, with no clear idea of where he was going, only what he intended to do once he got there.

* * *

Ben was not surprised to find the house empty when he arrived, that night, having spent the day working in the shop with Han, although he did think it unusual that Millie circled his legs frantically, meowing at him in that pathetic tone that meant she was hungry. It was unlike Hux to forget her, yet sure enough, her food bowl was empty. He scooped a handful of kibble into it, watching her greedily tuck in for several minutes before finally deciding to go to bed alone. It was well past five in the morning when Hux returned; he was roused from sleep by a hand caressing his face, and had barely opened his eyes when the covers were swiftly yanked off and Hux straddled him, hungry eyes raking over him where he lay.

“What –”

Hux put his finger to Ben’s lips, shaking his head, before leaning down and kissing him, needy and rushed, sucking on his lower lip. Now fully awake and aware that Hux lacked clothing, Ben sat up, pulling him close, hands coming to rest on his hips. They kissed for a while longer, the act slowing to a soft slide of tongues and press of foreheads, when Hux planted his hands on Ben’s shoulders, forcing him once again onto his back and for once, holding him there despite the larger man’s attempts to resist. Ben’s eyes widened, expression betraying that he was caught somewhere between fear and arousal, while Hux could only smile, triumphant.

Ben stared up at him, apprehension melting away as the corners of his mouth turned up. The soft gesture was all the encouragement Hux needed and he scrambled for the lube in his nightstand. The encounter was urgent, words utterly unnecessary, only grasping and kissing and Hux lowering himself onto Ben swiftly and continuing to hold him down as he worked up a hurried rhythm. Ben could only look up at him, almost in awe, grasping him lightly by the hips, lips slightly parted, panting in helpless bliss.

Hux silently contemplated Ben’s scarred skin, his hand sliding to the one on his left shoulder and caressing it with his thumb; he knew it had come from one of his kind, not a bite, but a bullet graze. Anger rose in him at the thought of it, at anyone, immortal or otherwise, attempting harm on this man. _His_ Ben. He leaned down to press their lips together, trying not to melt as he felt arms encircling him tightly, the thrust of the wide hips matching the cadence of his own. Hux picked up his speed, beginning to tremble, unable to suppress effect that successfully restraining Ben was having on him.

The feeling was mutual; Ben writhed beneath him in blissful agony, exhaling in deep moans through gritted teeth and looking undeniably pitiful and gorgeous all at once, at least to Hux, who relinquished the grip on his shoulders, welcoming the needy arms that held him tightly as Ben sat up, kissing his face and mouthing at his neck and chest. Hux trembled for a moment more, throwing his arms around Ben's neck as release overtook them both, the familiar heat filling him and his own spend warm and sticky between them. They remained in the tight embrace for some time, Ben's head heavy on Hux's shoulder while Hux caressed his sweat-slick skin. He finally lifted his head, staring at Hux with lust-dazed eyes and an apprehensive smile, pushing his hair away from his face.

“That was unexpected.”

“You didn’t hate it.”

Ben shook his head, no longer able to resist the grin that spread across his face and made the corners of his eyes crinkle just so. “No. No, I definitely didn’t hate it.” He shifted and lay back down, taking Hux with him, one hand stroking his hair and the other lazily roaming his pale body.

Hux made a half-hearted sound of disgust. “We’re both covered in –”

“ _I_ know,” Ben rolled his eyes. “That’s your fault,” he teased, fondly tapping Hux on the nose with his finger.

Hux nuzzled his face down against him. “Ben . . . what’s happening to me?”

“I would have thought you’d be thrilled, finding out you can scale walls and . . . dominate me effortlessly all in the same week.”

“I am, it’s just,” he huffed - “how far does it go? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I offered you my neck willingly and you didn’t even hesitate to refuse. You won’t hurt me.”

Hux glared at him suspiciously. “Were you _testing_ me, then?”

“No,” Ben shook his head adamantly. “No, I really wanted –”

“I will _never_.”

Ben smiled at him with unnerving admiration. “See? No matter what happens, what you . . . become. You’ll never hurt me.”

Hux’s glare softened, and he appeared to be on the edge of blurting out something that desperately wanted saying. Ben just lay there patiently, staring back at him with fondness and trust. An egregious amount of trust that nagged at Hux’s conscience and caused him no small amount of irritation with this _stupid_ boy of a man. This was not supposed to have happened, even after he had decided against giving him that deadly kiss when they first met, he’d had no intentions of ever seeing him again.

“Something you want to tell me, Tig?”

He swallowed hard, pushing himself up on one elbow and grasping the other man’s face gently. Ben raised his eyebrows expectantly, looking almost smug. “Ben I . . .” he carded his fingers through the damp black waves. “I . . .” he sighed. “I hate it when you call me ‘Tig’.”

Ben smiled again and pulled him close, their foreheads touching. “You’re a horrible liar, Armitage Hux.” He kissed him firmly on the cheek, lingering for longer than necessary. “I hate it when I call you ‘Tig’, too.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Does everything have to make sense?” he whispered.

Hux shook his head, smiling.

Ben glanced at the window, where grayish-white light was starting to spill into the bedroom and resenting it for reminding him that they both had to leave this bed. He turned to Hux, sighing reluctantly.

“I know, I see it, too. Responsibility still awaits both of us.” Yet instead of getting up, he, nestled down once more, tracing lines over Ben’s neck. “I hate the sun.”

                                                                                                                    ****

“I tried making my fangs retract last night,” Hux said casually over breakfast.

“How’d that go for you?”

“Decidedly poor. They seemed to fight back with a vengeance and I got worked up as I haven’t since my first few nights as . . . this.”

“Do I want to know what you did to alleviate that?”

Hux shook his head. Ben didn’t need to know about the three people he’d attacked hours before, especially since one of them had no pulse by the time he finally relinquished his grasp on them.

“It’s been what, seven years since you were turned?”

Hux nodded.

“And you’re still pretty much a fledgling.”

“Thanks,” Hux replied, rolling his eyes.

“No, I mean it in a good way, it’s actually somewhat impressive. Normally, by now, a vampire would have attempted everything there was to try, either gotten skilled or sloppy at what they do. Develop such an obsession with their own bloodlust that it would have caught the eyes of the Resistance.” He covered Hux’s hand fondly with his own “So on one hand, we likely would have ended up meeting years ago. On the other, that meeting would have been violent and short-lived.”

“Bless my stunted development, then,” Hux smiled.

“Mmhmm. I know I like to put my head in the sand about it, but you’re not human, not anymore, yet you’ve retained a lot of your human qualities better than most. Just –”

“‘Be careful’, I know.”

“ _Yes_ , but I mean be careful about trying to resist what you are now, to tame it. Like you said, it claws back with a vengeance; vampire nature doesn’t like being kept on a leash. Like a cat,” he added with a wink.

Hux smiled, and they finished breakfast in comfortable silence before each of them got started on their respective days, Ben headed back to Han’s shop but always on call should the services of the Resistance be needed, and Hux to his office at the real estate agency. Hux had pulled on his coat and reached for the door, finding his access to it blocked by Ben’s enormous frame.

“Ben, I’m going to be late, I need –”

What he needed seemed unimportant to Ben, who had grabbed him by the face and kissed him firmly on the mouth. His haste and annoyance had melted away by the time Ben pulled back and he struggled not to smile.

“Hux.”

“Get out of my way,” he said, his tone suggesting that he didn’t really want what he demanded.

“Hux.”

“ _Yes_ , darling?”

“When you . . . jumped me earlier. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

“Thank you?” he smirked.

“ _Hux._ ”

“ _What_ , Ben?”

“The whole time,” he shook his head, reaching up to touch his lips. “The whole time, no fangs.”

He grinned broadly at Hux’s taken aback expression before turning to leave. “Just thought I’d mention it. Have a good day at work, Tig.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a tricky chapter, but overall I'm happy with it. I hope you all don't mind that Soft Kylux that keeps sneaking in here, although I do plan to go darker again in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben may have a solution to one of Hux's problems, while figures from Hux's past threaten to upset the happiness that he is reluctantly letting creep into his life.

Hux stood languidly outside _Beanie’s_ , a local coffee shop, wondering just a bit why he had agreed to this meeting in the first place. As if on cue, he looked up to see Rey approaching, greeting him with a warm smile when she caught sight of him. That she knew what he was and could still look at him like that gave him feelings that he did not quite understand, and this had even been her idea.

 

“Hello again! I’m so sorry, you haven’t been waiting long, have you?” She asked, noticing that he held a cup in each hand.

 

“No, no,” he assured her. “I just arrived a bit earlier than intended. I ordered already, I hope you don’t mind.” He held one of the cups towards her. “Gingerbread latte, did I get it right?”

 

She furrowed her brows. “Yes, thank you! But how did you know?”

 

“As I said, Ben speaks of you often and fondly.”

 

“Does Ben know you’re here?”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “He wasn’t exactly thrilled, but I think he’s at least no longer convinced I’ll bite you.”

 

"That sounds like him", she smiled, taking a sip of her drink and looking back up to meet his eyes. “So how are you, how have you been?”

 

He shrugged. “The same.”

 

She narrowed her eyes a bit. “Right. Walk with me.”

 

They went side by side in slightly uncomfortable silence for a while, until they had left the crowds behind them, heading towards a small but well-kept and cheery little park with paved trails. It was still unusually warm, at least for the time of year, and the first snow had yet to fall.

 

“I’m interpreting that face you made as indication you don’t believe me.”

 

“I may be young, Mr. Hux, but I’m not an idiot. And Ben’s been dishonest about his feelings for years, so I’m used to seeing through rubbish like that. Now, I’m going to ask you again, _how are you_?”

 

He walked a few more paces, stopping at a small wooden walk that bridged two modest rises in the land, leaning against the railing. “Confused.”

 

She stopped beside him, arm resting comfortably against his. “About?”

 

He bit at his lip, conflicted about having wanted to talk to her for over a week now, yet feeling incredibly strange seeking advice from this person he barely knew. “ _Fuck it_ ,” he whispered, turning to her. “What the hell am I, Miss Wingate?”

  
“How do you mean? You’re a vampire. Granted, one who’s made a very unusual choice in partners, but a vampire nonetheless.”

 

“Well, yes,” he shrugged. “But Ben refuses to tell me much about what I am. Up until I pulled that ridiculous stunt on Halloween, I had no idea I was capable of . . .” he waved his free hand vaguely. “Spiderman-ing.”

 

Rey had to bite back a laugh, putting a hand over her mouth and swallowing hastily to stop herself choking on her drink. “I’m sorry,” she said in response to the dour look he gave her. “I just wasn’t expecting you to use that sort of – terminology. As far as what Ben will or won’t tell you, it’s a tricky business, anyways. Like humans, you’re all different, some extraordinary, others lacking in almost every way.”

 

Hux nodded. “He did say that much.”

 

“Most typically,” she grimaced, “those who have been turned quickly find their own kind. A clan, or coven, if you will. If I can be transparent with you, I’m glad you didn’t.”

 

“I’ve met a few of ‘my kind’. Arrogant pricks.”

 

“Some are like that, yes. A good bit, actually, now that I think about it. Others are more rudimentary, and then you have the bottom-feeders. Barely even recognizable as human,” she explained, seeing the puzzled look on his face. They’re rare, but especially dangerous as neither human or vampire can reason with them.”

 

“Is that what Ben’s afraid of me turning into?”

 

“No,” she shook her head confidently. “No, not at all. They’re a different type altogether, had you been bitten by one, you’d have been turned already. Likely we’d have gotten to you by now.”

 

“So nice of you and Ben both to keep reminding me how many times you could have killed me in the past,” he said wryly.

 

She smiled apologetically. “The truth is ugly, Hux.”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

 

“I’m sorry I haven’t been as helpful as you might have hoped.” She placed a hand on his back.

 

“It’s nothing. But thank you for not being evasive about it. You’ve no idea how frustrating –”

 

“Beg your pardon, but I’ve known that stubborn oaf of a man for a lot longer than you have, nearly a decade; we lived in the same house together for years. I know _exactly_ how frustrating he is. Trust me, you have my sympathy.”

 

“Rey?” he inquired softly as they walked back to the coffee shop. “Why are you doing this? You have no reason to give me the time of day, let alone show me the goodwill that you have.”

 

She pulled her coat tighter around her as the wind picked up. “Namely, as I’ve said, Ben. Precious little in this world makes him happy, and his whole disposition was different when I saw him with you, even when he was getting annoyed. He comes across as gruff and salty and even mean, but he’s a genuinely good person, like his Dad. You don’t know how much it means to me to see him like he is when he’s with you. On the same note,” she added, shivering, “Despite your attempts at being aloof and disinterested and shallow, I’m inclined to believe that _you’re_ a good man, too.”

 

“That depends on how you look at it and who you ask,” he winced.

 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, I’m sure you didn’t choose this.”

 

“I didn’t, but does it make a difference? I’m not sure now I’d pick differently if I could go back and _have_ the choice, however . . . I do enjoy being what I am. Thoroughly. But someone else made my choice for me, so it’s all the same.”

 

“Would you mind telling me about it?”

 

He stared at her blankly for several moments. “Am I an amusing exhibit to you, Miss Wingate?”

 

“No,” she replied steadily. “I want a better understanding. You’re not the only one who wants to know more about your kind.”

 

His countenance was suspicious. “I would think you know all that there is to.”

 

She glanced down, pursing her lips. “I’ve never really had the chance to get it from the other side’s perspective, though.”

 

They had reached the parking lot of _Beanie’s_ and she had her back against her ‘97 Camaro, pristine despite its age. Han’s doing, no doubt, Hux thought. He stalked closer to her, planting a hand against the car with her trapped between it and his willowy frame.

 

“I _kill_ , Miss Wingate, although not as often as I used to. I take by force and exploiting people’s weaknesses, and I enjoy it. In case you’ve forgotten what my nature entails.”

 

“I haven’t. And I’m not condoning what you do. I simply wish to know more.”

 

“Curiosity killed the cat,” he growled, leaning close, eyes flicking for a millisecond to her neck and then back to her eyes.

 

“And satisfaction brought it back,” she smiled. “You don’t scare me, Hux.”

 

He thought for a long moment before looking into her eyes and shaking his head. “Another time. It’s not a story I wish to relive just yet.”

 

She acknowledged him with a nod, staring at the ground. “Another time, then.”

 

His lips curved softly upwards. “You hunters aren’t so bad, after all.”

 

She crinkled her nose. “There’s something to be said for you bloodsuckers, as well.” Her smiled quickly faded when she noticed how his face had suddenly darkened; he was looking over her shoulder at something in the distance.

 

“You should leave.” He’d gone rigid, poised as if the need to spring or flee would arise any moment.

 

“Why?” She made to turn around and look in the direction of his distress and he quickly snatched her by the face and turned her back to him.

 

“Dammit, will you _listen_ to me?” he hissed, gripping her by the shoulders and shaking her gently. “It’s not safe for you to be seen with me right now, alright? I’m sorry, I’ll explain later, maybe. For now, _please_ leave. I promise you, you’re in danger.” He opened her car door, all but shoving her inside, before walking around behind it. She heard the disconcerting wrench of metal against metal and then a snap before he did the same in the front, tossing both of her license plates across her lap and into the passenger’s seat.

 

“What in the actual _hell_?” she yelled at him, incredulous. “I’ll get pulled over!”

 

“Shh, lower your voice and just go! I’ll pay your fees if you do.”

 

She stared in disbelief at the discarded plates beside her before whipping back to face him again. “I’ll do as you ask for now, but there will be absolutely no ‘maybe’. You _are_ going to tell me what this is all about.” She turned her key in the ignition, engine growling to life.

 

“ _Go_!” He pleaded now, looking simultaneously pathetic and ethereal; brows knitted in distress and annoyance, eyes going pale.

 

“I’m going,” she glowered. “You should probably get out of sight, too.” She gestured at her own eyes and mouth and then pointed at him. “Your Nosferatu is showing,” she quipped darkly. “Thanks for the coffee, by the way,” she added teasingly.

 

He glared back in warning and slammed the car door, watching her speed away before whirling around to get into his own, a late model Audi SUV. Instinct told him to hurry up and leave, but he had to know. He watched the long-haired figure carefully, intensely, grateful for the freakishly good sight that his condition granted him. A thrill of relief and giddiness came over him when the woman turned around; a streak of gray marred her otherwise dark hair and her face was that of an older woman. She looked behind herself with a smile as a small child ran up to her and took her by the hand. He heaved a sigh, feeling foolish, and checked his reflection in the rearview mirror. _‘_ _Going to show up when I’m spooked now, too, huh? Fair enough.’_

 

He answered Rey’s phone call later that afternoon with anxious reluctance.

 

“ _Got off with a warning, but you still owe me!”_

 

“I’m sorry, Rey, I’ll make it up to you – let me buy you dinner tonight.”

 

“ _Can we talk then?”_

 

“If we have time and privacy afterwards. Ben and I were supposed to go out with Phasma and her latest love interest, but Ben had to . . .” his voice trailed off awkwardly.

 

“ _He had a mission, yes. There’s been a load of fisherman in Newport turning up dead with strange bite marks. He and Poe left some time ago.”_

 

“Regardless of why, it’s left me in the miserable position of being a third wheel. Be my plus one?”

 

“ _Fine,”_ she sighed; he knew by her tone of voice that she was rolling her eyes, and for some reason it made him smile.

 

“You’re a _doll_ , Miss Wingate.”

* * *

“Swear to _God_ I had no idea, how could I have known?”

They sat in her apartment later that night after leaving the restauraunt, a cheesecake sitting in front of them on her coffee table beside an open bottle of wine. She shook her head blankly, rolling her eyes for the nth time that night, before taking an undignified gulp straight from the bottle.

He watched her with pursed lips as he sat beside her, picking up a slice of cheesecake and taking a bite out of it. He studied her for a moment longer and let out a snort of laughter when she looked at him, rolling her eyes yet again. She took another gulp of wine, glaring at him before swallowing it, lips irresistibly curling upwards, and at last burst into laughter herself.

“You couldn’t have,” she admitted, “but it was still completely ridiculous!” She handed him the wine, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

“What are the odds of Phasma’s date being the cop who pulled you over earlier?” he held out the slice of cheesecake to her, smiling when she took a bite.

“Slim to none, although it’s still your fault that our new friend Mr. Mitaka pulled me over in the first place.”

“And he was nice enough not to write you a ticket. Smashing man, I can see why Phas fancies him.” He took a swig from the bottle before passing it back to her.

“I really am sorry about the license plates,” he said.

“Took me the better part of the afternoon to fix that mess! We’re lucky Han doesn’t ask many questions, just looked at me like I’d lost my mind and told me to let him know if I needed help with the welder.”

“Look, I thought I saw someone that . . .” he sighed, lost for words.

“Again, you’re a _vampire_ , Hux! What could possible be scarier than you? You’ve been dating one of the most notorious hunters in the country for over six months. And having bloody _coffee_ and a walk in the park with another. What could possibly pose a worse threat?”

“Another vampire?” he suggested. “The one who did this to me,” he added, lowering his voice and looking at the floor.

“They’re here, in town?” she asked, incredulous. “Did you want me to –”

He held out a hand to stop her. “No, no. It wasn’t. Just . . . from a distance, all that long hair. Made me think of her and it all came rushing back to me and I panicked. Almost felt human again.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” she smiled, patting him on the leg.

“No, but it was still terrifying. She was, or probably still is, an unhinged person. Decided somehow that I was her soulmate and didn’t take rejection very well, was jealous of anyone I was remotely friendly with. Phasma had to change her locks and her phone number. Moved altogether, eventually, and that was before I was turned. After, well, I guess you could say I followed her and here I am now.”

“And this woman who turned you, she just stopped? Lost interest?”

He shrugged. “Haven’t seen or heard of or from her in years. I think it took her realizing that not even her twisted ‘gift’ of immortality could make me love her, at least like that. Elanor and I were friends once upon a time, before she got weird. I knew her before she was like this.”

Rey raised her eyebrows thoughtfully. “Not what I expected.”

“Best parts of life often aren’t what we expected,” he smiled softly. “I was warned about you people, you know. The arrogant pricks I mentioned earlier. It’s how I knew what Ben was, by the symbol on his jacket.”

“Glutton for punishment, then? Enjoy tempting fate?”

He looked up at her slyly. “Maybe it was fate tempting me.”

* * *

“There’s a gentleman here to see you, Mr. Hux.” His secretary peeked her head into his office on a late November Tuesday afternoon, a tentative smile on her lined, but elegant face.

“I’m not seeing anyone today, Peggy”, he replied, not looking up from his desk. “I have closing paperwork to do on that beachfront property before we close for the holiday.”

“I’ll close yours if you close mine,” a deep voice responded as a wadded up sheet of paper flew towards him and rolled off the desk. He looked up to see Ben looming behind Peggy in the doorway, a takeout bag in his hand.

“He said he had an appointment,” Peggy gave him a smile that was apologetic, but knowing. “Let me know if there’s anything you need before I leave.”

“Thank you, Peg. Go ahead and go whenever you like, I can handle it from here. I know you’ve got family coming in.”

“Thank you, sir,” she grinned.

Ben smiled broadly as he sank into the chair across from Hux, putting his bag on the desk. “ _Aww._ ”

“Don’t ‘Aww’ me,” Hux sneered, deliberately not looking at him. “I’m not heartless, and she’s done nothing for the past two weeks but talk about how excited she is about her wretched, boring children and grandchildren flying in tonight.”

“She referred to them as ‘wretched and boring’?”

“No, but I’m sure they are.”

“Sure. Speaking of mothers . . . Mom’s already ordered me to bring you back for Thanksgiving.”

“I’m English, Ben. We don’t do Thanksgiving.”

“I know,” he rolled his eyes. “And I tried explaining that’s ‘You and Phasma day’ and she said you could bring her, too.”

Hux rubbed at his temples, resisting the urge to burst out laughing. “Have you _met_ Phasma?”

Ben pursed his lips, nodding. Phasma spent many a weekend with them doing everything from wild nights at the club to quiet Sundays doing movie binges. “Right after you introduced us, she warned me that if I was ‘Another fuck boy that made you even more insufferable than your usual self’, she’d cut my fun bits off and shove them down my throat. Have you _met_ my mother?”

“Your mother is as intimidating as she is lovely.”

“Exactly. She and Phasma will hit it off and be delightfully obnoxious together.”

He threw his hands up. “I concede. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise. Just no more pretending to bite people and _no more_ wall climbing.”

“You never let me have any fun,” he grinned.

“What can I say, I was born with a stick up my ass,” he laughed softly. “How’s your little experiment going, by the way? The teeth thing?”

“Haven’t mucked about with it much, honestly.” He shrugged.

Ben nodded thoughtfully. “Can we try something?”

Hux glanced up at him, eyes dark with warning. “I swear,” he growled, “if you offer me your neck again, there will be hell to pay.”

“No,” he replied, taken aback, clearing his throat. “But God, you’re hot when you look at me and talk like that.” He sat up straight, suddenly tugging at the crotch of his jeans, which had gotten uncomfortably tight. “Threaten me with a good time,” he muttered. “ . . . _Sir_.”

Hux slammed his hand against the desk and glared at him. “Dammit, Ben!” he shouted. “I really do need to finish this closing before I can leave tonight. Did you just come here to proposition me?”

He glanced over Ben’s shoulder through the blinds in the window that faced the lobby. Peggy had her coat on, purse on her arm and hand at the door but turned to stare back at him when she heard his raised voice, one eyebrow raised. He bit at his lip, blinking rapidly, face going red. “Happy Thanksgiving, Peggy!” he shouted, forcing a smile. “I expect lots of pictures on Monday!”

“Of course, dear,” she replied in a motherly tone, forcing a straight face. “Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.”

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling in exasperation, deliberately avoiding Ben’s mischievous smirk.

“Out with it, then,” he spat, his tone hinting at a short temper. “What’s your big plan?”

Ben reached for the takeout bag and produced a Styrofoam bowl; it was from the Thai restaurant a few blocks over. He peeled back the lid and Hux was immediately startled by the smell that filled the room.

“What is that?” he whispered, eyes glued to it as Ben pushed it towards him; he couldn’t remember the last time actual, real food had made his mouth water quite like this, but the smell was almost enchanting in its familiarity.

“Raw pig’s blood soup,” he replied.

Hux cautiously dipped the pad of his finger into it and brought it to his lips. And again.

“Doesn’t taste like blood,” he commented, somewhat surprised. “Still somewhat satisfying though, even if it leaves one wanting.”

“I figured as much, but we’ll see if it has the desired effect. When was the last time you bit?”

“Night before last,” he replied, picking the bowl up and drinking straight from it, smiling at the way Ben noticeably winced through his smile as he watched. “I didn’t kill them,” he added, swallowing.

“I believe you,” he said, indicating the soup. “That’s just . . . really disgusting.”

“Would it be less revolting if it were human blood right from the source?”

Hux raised his eyebrows, a leer forming on his lips when he did not get an immediate response. “Ben Solo, I’m telling your mother.”

Ben reached into the bag, pulling out another bowl of the crimson abomination, pushing it towards him. “Fuck you, Tig.”

“Later,” he winked, reaching for the second bowl.

“Your place or mine?” he countered, getting to his feet with a lascivious grin.

“Mine.” Hux licked his lips. “Seven-thirty sharp.”

“You got it,” Ben purred. He reached for Hux as if to kiss him on the mouth, stopping to look at the container of cold blood he’d literally just drank from and opting to press his lips to his forehead instead, pulling away noisily. “Um, wash your mouth out first, ‘kay?”

Hux chortled lowly, nodding and pushing stray hairs out of Ben’s face before he was out of reach.

“Oh, and Solo!”

Ben turned around just as he reached the door, looking at him expectantly, met with a stern glare.

“ _Don’t_ be late.”

“Yes, sir,” he whispered, leaving without another word.

* * *

He had showed up at 7:43, lazily climbing the stairs to find Hux properly incensed, still dressed in his work clothes and holding a riding crop, that stern, angry, impatient look on his face again.

Nearly an hour later, Ben was lying atop him, cradled in his arms, both of them panting. The cheeks of his ass bore dozens of angry red marks.

“I’m not going to be able to sit for a week.”

“I did warn you about tardiness, Mr. Solo,” Hux rasped, voice weak from shouting. He stroked Ben’s hair soothingly, enjoying the weight of him just lying there, spent and complacent.

“I know,” Ben smiled up at him. He winced at the wet sound that occurred anytime he moved. “We should probably shower.”

“Mmhmm,” Hux nodded. “At least you get to share the blame this time. Look what a mess between us.”

Ben glared at him in disbelief. “Don’t give me too much credit. I didn’t come on _my own_ face. Watch that smart mouth. Speaking of which – ”

He brought his hands to Hux’s lips, gently nudging them back. “Huh. Not as good as I’d hoped, but unless they’re really looking, no one would be the wiser. How do you feel?”

“Sticky,” he replied, dodging the actual question.

“Speak for yourself,” Ben quipped, dragging a hand over his face and wiping it off on Hux’s cheek.

“Ben, that’s disgusting,” Hux whined, trying to wriggle away.

“Yes, it is,” he grinned condescendingly. “Look,” he took Hux’s face in his hands, forcing their eyes to meet. “You wanted me to help you with this. Help me help you.”

Hux nodded reluctantly. “I’m sorry. Thank you, darling. To answer your question, I’m merely . . . passably sated. In that respect, anyways,” he winked. “Good to know the little buggers can be kept in check, somewhat.” He shook his head. “But it’s nothing like the real thing.”

Ben nodded complacently. “Progress is still progress.” He pushed himself up, grimacing at the mess between them. “Why don’t we go ahead and progress to the shower now, though? This – really is disgusting.” At the last word, he’d burst into laughter.

Hux gave a little chuckle as he peeled himself away and got up, too. “I played the angry one and _you’re_ fussing to go clean up instead of sleeping in it like a pig. Will wonders never cease?”

“Brace yourself,” Ben whispered, eyes narrowed, as he threw the covers back from the bed and stripped the sheets off, wadding them up and tossing them into the hamper. “Oh my _God_!” he exclaimed in delighted disbelief as Hux watched him. “Did that really just make your cock twitch? You have so many issues, Tig.”

“And you stick around in spite of them,” he smiled back. “Teeth and all.”

Ben took him by the hand and tugged, headed for the bathroom. “Teeth and all.”

* * *

Ben sat at the table, absentmindedly peeling potatoes, and looked on, intrigued, as Hux moved fluidly through his mother’s kitchen, working alongside her and taking orders as if it were second nature. He even went as far every now and then to make a suggestion or show her a more efficient way of doing things.

He wondered if Hux would have done it had she simply been his mother, and not also founder of one of the most notorious underground organizations on the east coast, and couldn’t help probing, just a little bit, not so deep so as to alert either Hux or Leia of what he was doing. Hux emanated an odd sense of contentment; only the tiniest hint of anxiety lingered at the inner corners of his mind.

“Huh,” he sighed, brows furrowed.

“What?” Phasma inquired. She sat across from him, cutting the potatoes into small pieces behind him. She too, seemed to be oddly at peace, despite being put to work, as it were. She and Hux had actually nearly tripped over themselves to get into the kitchen. They really were an odd pair.

“Nothing,” he muttered, rolling a potato across the table towards her.

“It’s never nothing with you,” Hux said slyly from his place at the counter.

“Hush your mouth, Tig.” Ben had to smile at the irony of watching him mince garlic. The movies and old stories often got so much wrong.

Hux pursed his lips, pointedly putting down the garlic press and storming over to the table, looming ominously behind him and bending down. “Don’t _call_ me that! Not here!” he hissed loudly.

“You’re fighting a losing battle,” Leia commented. “Once a Solo has given you some insufferable nickname, you’re stuck with it for life. Right, Han?” she asked as Han breezed through the kitchen, headed for the door.

“Whatever you say, Your Worship.”

She turned to Hux with an ‘I-told-you-so’ look on her face.

He forced a smile, almost wishing she’d stop being so amiable with him. He had only met her briefly on his last visit and would have been more than happy to keep it that way. He couldn’t fathom why Ben had seen fit to bring him back a second time after his minor meltdown at Halloween, and could fathom even less why he had agreed in lieu of his usual tradition of getting wine-drunk and laughing at Black Friday shoppers with Phasma.

‘ _I shouldn’t be here . . .’_ he thought, still uncertain why.

He was somehow made equally even more uncomfortable and more welcomed when he realized how small the crowd ended up being at the Organa-Solo household; Poe was the only other non-relative present.He hadn’t realized how intimate and somewhat exclusive the invite had been. Everyone else had traveled their respective ways to their own families. And yet, he still didn’t feel awkward or out of place, despite looking like the glowing orange centerpiece of superfluously tall people as he sat with Ben on his left and Phasma to his right.

‘ _You don’t belong here’,_ the voice in his mind taunted again later, as everyone sat in the living room, comfortably over-fed and a few drinks in. He stood facing the mantle, gazing at photographs with a soft smile, large glass of Merlot in his hand. God bless Ben’s mother for having better taste in wine than her son, at least. There was a slightly faded picture of Han, Leia and Luke from some decades ago, smiling on a beach in front of an old Chevelle.

“Our wedding day,” Leia smiled, sidling up to him, also with drink in hand. “We eloped,” she went on fondly. “Our Dad didn’t take kindly to Han.”

The pictures he found most endearing, however, were the numerous ones of Ben and Rey, both of them egregiously skinny and awkward, Ben gangling, all teeth and ears and too-long limbs.He frowned slightly at the last one. It was Ben as he’d never actually seen, standing in what was most likely the woods that surrounded the family home, dressed in a long leather trenchcoat, an odd apparatus over his face, almost like a muzzle. A longsword with a lengthy cross guard hung at his side. Leia volunteered no explanation for the picture and he volunteered no questions. He glanced out the window at the dark and absentmindedly licked his teeth, mouth closed, tongue glancing over sharp protrusions that did not occur in normal people. He drained his glass and handed it to Ben where he lay sprawled out in an over-sized chair.

“I’m going for a quick walk, darling,” he mumbled, heading for the door. Ben merely nodded.

Hux headed for his car, unlocking the passenger’s side door and reaching for the cooler on the floor, grateful for Ben’s foresight; they had stopped at the Thai restaurant on the way, acquiring a few orders of the soup. He downed two bowls of the stuff in just a few minutes, licking remnants from his lips as ambled to the edge of the woods, stretching, pleased at the way the fangs had retreated. He still ached for the real thing, but Ben’s solution worked well enough.

*****************

“Ben, can I borrow you for a minute?” Poe inquired, standing in the foyer.

“Sure.” Ben gathered himself up, yawning, and followed.

“You ok, buddy?”

Ben frowned at him. “Yeah. Yeah, never better, why?”

“You’ve been a little off since Newport.”

“Newport was just another job.”

“You hesitated. A _lot_. That could cost you your life, Ren. Or your humanity.”

“I’m fine, Dameron, I promise.”

Poe’s face gave away his suspicion, but he didn’t continue to prod. “If you say so. Just be careful.”

“Always,” Ben smiled, confident.

“Gotcha,” Poe replied with a smile. “I’d just hate for something to happen when you’ve got so much going for you now.”

*****************

 

Hux continued to linger by the woods, stopping at an ancient ash tree and slowly lifting his head to look at the moonlight streaming in between the branches that seemed to stretch up into oblivion. He smiled to himself and at his sudden urge to climb it. He refrained, of course, but it was still a rather delightful thought, and he made a mental note to find some place more secluded and satisfy that particular desire soon. He pressed a hand to the trunk, fingers brushing over a spot where someone had carved into it. It was then that he realized it was the same tree in the background of Ben’s photo, and the carved out chunks read _KYLO REN_ in large, bold letters. He traced the letters slowly with one finger.

“They warned me about you, Ren,” he mumbled softly, shaking his head, a bittersweet smile on his lips. He used to be so sure of himself, looking out for number one, whoever got hurt in the process be damned. “What have you done to me?”

“Hux?”

He looked up to see Phasma striding towards him, an easy smile on her face; she too had been accepted with open arms and seemed to be enjoying herself, in spite of not being overly fond of sentimental gatherings.

“You’ve been out here a while, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, forcing enthusiasm. “Just had a craving for Thai, you know.”

“Ah,” she smiled. “That’s right. Ben’s little remedy for your ‘mouth boners’ as he called them,” she laughed. “I’m actually upset we never thought of that ourselves.”

He smiled fondly, staring at his feet. “Ben’s not as dumb as he looks, evidently.”

She gave him a playfully disapproving glare. “He cares about you.”

Hux worried at his lip. “I know.”

“His Mum seems to fancy you.”

“Leia terrifies me,” he admitted with a breathy laugh.

“For once in your life, you’re worrying too much.” She put her arms around him, pulling him snugly to her side, her head on his shoulder. “You’ve always had a taste for nice things. Fancy things. _Shallow_ things. Let yourself have something real for a change, hmm?”

He sighed deeply. “I know,” he replied, shaking his head. “Just – ” he reached out again, fingers brushing along the moniker. “Why did it have to be _him_?”

“Because the universe has a sick sense of humor,” she said matter-of-factly, rubbing his back as she let go and turned to head back to the house. “Come on,” she added, tugging at his sleeve. “Before Ben starts pining.”

“I’m coming, just give me another moment, will you?”

“Alright, but hurry up.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning away.

“You’re unusually sentimental this evening, it’s almost disturbing. Have you been drinking one of Dameron’s concoctions?”

She turned to him and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Of course you have,” he said with a roll of his eyes. He watched her go with a wistful smile.

_You don’t deserve either of them._

“Hush, you,” he told his own toxic thoughts, quite tired of the doubt and misgivings they’d been giving him and spoiling an otherwise enjoyable day. Suddenly he heard a noise, the smallest of rustlings, crack of twigs, coming closer. He froze, trepidation making all of his senses stand on edge. A glance at the house told him that Phasma was back inside – he could see her through the windows to the living room, laughing with Ben and Poe while Han looked on in amusement. For some reason, he found he didn’t want to turn back around, even though he told himself it was probably just some animal. His vampire senses, however, spoke otherwise. Although it was the last thing in the world he wanted, he turned slowly, silently to face the intrusion, hardly surprised but no less displeased at what faced him. Mahogany hair down to her knees, dressed in copious amounts of black, and those unsettling creepy blue eyes seeming to stare right through him.

“Armitage Hux. It’s been a long time.”

“ _Elanor_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that the hint of an actual plot I can see on the horizon?! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. We also might be seeing more of officer Mitaka in the future.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A platonic love story, or how Hux met Phasma, and then back to the drama unfolding at the Organa-Solo estate.

_**Boston, circa 2009** _

 

 

“ _Please get it right. Just this once, just for today.”_

 

It hadn’t been a particularly bad day; just the opposite, in fact. Hux had closed on his first sale since getting his realtor’s license and promoting from secretary to agent, and decided treating himself to superfluous amounts of caffeine and sugar was a good way to close the work day. He crossed his fingers and waited with bated breath as the barista squinted at what he knew had to be his order.

 

“Carnage? Order for Carnage?”

 

Hux snorted, smiling sardonically to himself, taking a deep breath before marching to the counter to collect what would keep him up halfway into the night and trying to keep a straight face when the barista handed him his cup. “Good thing you’re cute, coffee boy,” Hux muttered to himself as he made his way back to the table where his briefcase and laptop were. He was only slightly taken aback to find a tall blonde woman sitting across from him. She was almost unnaturally large, but certainly not inelegant; she carried herself with a casual confidence that somehow made him feel at ease. She too looked like she had just come from work, wearing a well-fitting red and white floral print dress with a light blazer draped over her shoulders. Before he could say anything about the intrusion, she gave him a knowing smirk, glancing at his cup, where “CARNAGE” was written in all caps in a hand that looked irritatingly familiar to comic sans.

 

“Does that happen a lot or did they just do a particularly good job at butchering a common name?”

 

He stared at her for a few beats before answering. “The first. I often wonder why my parents hated me so.”

 

She barked out a soft laugh. “Just wait and see.” He turned to look where her eyes currently rested; another barista was adding swirls of whipped cream to a frozen drink with copious amounts of chocolate syrup. “Here it comes.” This barista had none of the hesitance of the one who had changed Hux’s first name to Carnage. She was young and confident, marching right to the edge of the counter before shouting in her small, young voice.

 

“Order for Plasma!”

 

“That’s me”, she winked, getting to her feet. She wore high heels in spite of her height, stirring a warm admiration in him. His lips curved into a soft, curious smile as he watched her retrieve her order and thank the staff with more grace than necessary, at least in his opinion. She sighed contentedly as she sat back down, before glancing back at him, eyes wide.

 

“Oh, I meant to ask, you don’t mind, do you? These are killing me,” - she gestured at her feet, “and everywhere else was taken except for . . . over there.” Her lip curled in distaste. He glanced at the corner table where a young couple sat on one side, thoroughly ignorant of the world around them as they appeared to be trying to see which of them could suck off the other one’s face with more enthusiasm.

 

He mirrored her expression as he turned back to face her. “In that case, not at all.” He took a sip from his coffee. Oh yes, even if he only finished half of it, he would never sleep now. Perfect. He nodded at her. “Your accent betrays that you’re not from here, _Plasma_.”

 

She stuck her finger in the whipped cream and brought it to her lips. “Neither are you, Mr. Carnage. Tell you what, let’s try and figure out each other’s _real_ names based on these bizarre interpretations. Loser buys the winner a drink.”

 

He smirked at her condescendingly. “We already have drinks. Or at least, I do. _You_ appear to have the bastard child of a milkshake and Wonka’s chocolate factory.”

 

“Watch your mouth, Ginger. And I meant real drinks. For adults.” She leaned in. “With alcohol.”

 

He chewed at his lower lip, hoping he hadn’t gone pink in the cheeks. This part never got any easier. “Look, Miasma, or whatever your name is, you’re lovely, but I’m – ”

 

“I’m not hitting on you . . . Arnold? Also, strike one. Miasma, really? How horrible.”

 

“Apologies, I’ve been told I’ve a bad habit of unwittingly leading people on, so I wanted to be forward with you. No hard feelings. And that’s a strike for you as well . . . P-Pamela?”

 

She sighed. “If only Mum had liked ‘Pamela’. That’s not so bad, I suppose. Try again, Carson.”

 

“You owe me a shot now, regardless. Not even close, but I dated a Carson once, he was an absolute git. One more try, Velma.”

 

She smiled triumphantly, leaning back in her chair and taking a long sip of her frappe. “You lose.”

 

“Doesn’t mean that you win.”

 

“I’ll see you at Glitter’s around nine, _Armitage_. Bring your wallet.”

 

He stared at her incredulously. “ _How_?”

 

“You’ve been wearing your name badge this entire time, you berk.”

 

He glanced down at his left lapel. _Dammit._ “Are you this cheeky with everyone, Miss . . . ?”

 

“It’s ‘Phasma’,” she laughed. “Phasma Jones. And you have no idea, I’m positively insufferable once I’ve gotten to know a person.”

 

“What a coincidence, I’m told I’m insufferable most of the time.”

 

“I can already tell.”

 

He leaned back as well, sipping at his over-caffeinated beverage. “I think you and I are going to be very good friends, Miss Jones.”

 

* * *

“Hey, Plasma?” he slurred early the next morning, or late that night, whichever way one wanted to look at it, as the cab took them to her apartment, his head resting on her shoulder.

 

“Yes, Carnage?” she giggled, amused at his inebriated state; she almost quite literally drank him under a table. It was still impressive though, the amount of shots and cocktails he poured into that skinny frame before he finally started to get sloppy.

 

“Don’t let it go to your head, but I like you.” He reached up, clumsily patting her on the shoulder, letting his arm haphazardly fall so that he was nearly slumped on top of her.

 

“I like you, too,” she replied, still smiling, running a hand through his damp hair and rubbing his shoulders.

 

“Don’t . . . don’t have many friends,” he yawned.

 

She rolled her eyes. “ _That_ I can believe. You’re an arrogant prick.”

 

“Don’t ever forget it,” he smiled, eyes closed to stop the world from spinning more than it already was.

 

* * *

_**One year later.** _

 

“You know, I would never have bothered asking you to move in if I’d known you were planning on getting me fat.” Phasma feigned grumpiness as she dug into the pancakes and sausage Hux had just placed in front of her. He put down a second plate for himself and sat across from her at the tiny kitchen table, donned in only a thin t-shirt and his boxer briefs.

“Only for a little while longer, pet. Few more months and I’ll have enough for a healthy down payment.” He glanced up, taken aback to see hints of a pout on her face. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing. You know I enjoy having you here, I’ll miss you when you’re out of my hair.”

“You’ll miss my rent check.”

“You’re a fucking prat.”

“Look,” he smiled, reaching across to pat her on the hand. “I’m not going anywhere just yet. It’ll be even longer if we keep convincing each other it’s a good idea to hit _Glitter’s_ two or three times a month.

“I just want to go dancing. I don’t force you to buy drinks for every man or woman you happen to fancy.”

“We all have weaknesses,” he nodded, going back to his breakfast. “Is that another thing I should ‘work on’, as you say?”

“Yes! For fuck’s sake, yes!”

“Stop shouting at me!”

“Oh, this isn’t shouting, love,” she replied sweetly. “If I were _shouting,_ you’d have yourself shut off in another room.”

* * *

_**December 2012** _

“What do you mean, she attacked you again? How? I thought your boss got her banned after last month? Whose blood is that?” For all her stoicism, Phamsa couldn’t help but begin to tremble at the sight of her friend, standing in the threshold of her apartment, eyes wide, shirt torn and stained with varying shades of red, two large holes placed neatly at the side of his neck that mysteriously did not bleed.

He stared down, confused, shaking his head. “Mine? Hers? I don’t know, I didn’t expect her to be that strong.” He went to his knees, breathing heavily, and the sight of tears forming in his eyes disturbed her more than any amount of blood ever could; Hux never cried or displayed weakness, not even in front of her. He glanced up at her, shame clouding his normally arrogant visage. “She made me drink it.”

“Jesus fuck,” she whispered. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No!”

“Hux, look at you! You need a doctor, there’s no telling what diseases you’ve been exposed to.”

“Exactly, LOOK AT ME!”

Her stomach lurched at his appearance now, pupils blown unnaturally large as well as the madness in his voice.

“What on earth would I say happened to me?” He growled. “That a _vampire_ bit me? They’ll put me in the psych ward, I’ll be ruined.” He got to his feet, still shaking, pulling the remnants of his shirt off as he went. “Shower . . . yeah. Shower and a good night’s sleep and I’ll be fine. You still have a few sets of my clothes in the spare room, yeah?”

She backed against the wall as he went past her, afraid to touch him. After she heard the water running, she grabbed her phone, hesitating as tears ran down her own cheeks before dialing 911.

* * *

“Hux, please look at me.” She sat beside him in a hospital room the following afternoon; he was lying on his back with his head turned deliberately opposite her, staring blankly out the window. “Hux? _Carnage._ ” She had to bite her lip to stop the tears coming again – he still refused to look at her, but had reached up to take her by the hand. She grasped it in both of hers, caressing the back of it with her thumbs. “They’re not putting you in psych, your tests came back clean but they’re still convinced you just got a bad batch of drugs, or mushrooms, or something like that and must have fallen and hurt yourself. I wouldn’t put it past her to slip you something. Your blood pressure is normal again so they said I can take you home now. You can stay with me for a few days.”

He finally turned to look at her and it took all that was in her not to react to his appearance; his eyes were rimmed an angry red and dark rings encircled them. “You’re frightened of me.”

“I’m frightened _for_ you. You’re always so collected, so sure of yourself. I’d love to know what she did to you for you to behave the way you’ve been.”

“I _told_ you,” he hissed quietly. “She bit me. I’m no longer convinced those stupid teeth of hers are theatrical. She bit me, Phasma, nearly drained me by the neck and then forced me to . . .” he suppressed a gag at the thought of what had followed. “It was like something out of a bad movie.”

“It certainly sounds like it,” she lowered her voice – “but you told the doctors you don’t remember what happened. Hence their conclusion you were drugged or had a bad trip.”

“I’m not telling anyone here that a vampire bit me. Just look how you’ve reacted and you’re my . . .”

She squeezed his hand again. “A vampire _didn’t_ bite you, a mad woman did.”

He shot a dark glare at her as he sat up. “I can tell this is going to lead to one of our rows.”

“I agree,” she nodded, her voice terse. “But let’s get you home anyways.”

He slept on her couch for the remainder of the afternoon, looking somehow even worse for it when he woke up just after dark. His eyes and skin had somehow gone even paler than normal and the dark circles were as prominent as ever. He rubbed groggily at his face and reached for the glass of water on the coffee table; he couldn’t remember being so thirsty in his entire life, and immediately managed to spill it all over his front, cursing. Sitting up, he made a second attempt with similar results.

“The fuck . . .?” he whispered, feeling that something wasn’t quite right, hesitantly licking at his own teeth. Phasma entered the room moments later, wearing a fluffy robe over her sweater and jeans. When she approached him, he sat with his hand over his mouth, expression caught between horror and shame.

“How are you feeling, luv? Are you sure you’re quite alright? You’re shaking again.”

His hand trembled violently even as he shielded the bottom half of his face with it, the other held out towards her defensively. “Don’t come near me. Don’t touch me.”

“Hux, please don’t be angry with me,” she tentatively reached out and he flinched the moment her hand touched his shoulder. “I’m only – ”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

She backed away in horror as he abruptly stood to his feet – madness in his eyes, fists clenched . . . and lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing a set of pointed fangs where the lateral incisors should have been. Her hands flew to her mouth and she continued to step back, unable to look away. He mirrored her actions except his face was tainted with insanity more than fear. “I said . . . get away” he panted, trying desperately to not let his eyes wander to her neck even as he pulled on his shoes and reached for the door. Tears ran down both of their faces as they stared at one another, and he managed an apologetic, helpless shrug just before closing it behind himself.

* * *

She sat at the entrance of a church well after dark exactly five days later. He had gone radio silent since retreating from her home and while she had desperately wanted to reach out to him, the words never came and she never finished dialing that call or sending that message. He sat a few feet to her side now and wordlessly handed her a bottle of Grey Goose; he had been the one to finally break their silence with a quick text that afternoon.

‘ _Meet me at Old South Church tonight around 10. If you don’t, I’ll understand.’_

At first, she could only sip from the bottle and take quick, sidelong glances at him, telling herself that the moisture pricking at her eyes was to be blamed on the vodka burning its way down her throat. After about 15 minutes, she tentatively scooted closer. It was he who broke the silence yet again.

“I won’t pretend it wouldn’t break my heart just a little bit, but you know I’d understand if you don’t want to associate with me anymore.”

She shook her head furiously, lip trembling, and took another pull of vodka, swallowing loudly and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I just . . . it’s a lot to take in. I keep hoping I’ve dreamed it and I’ll wake up and you’ll be there, in the kitchen, hungover and making breakfast. Are you really . . .?”

He nodded miserably and even now, she could still see the fangs peeking out from beneath his lips.

“Have you . . .?”

“Yes.” He didn’t even need to ask what she meant.

She tilted her head back, half-heartedly taking in the gorgeous architecture of the building, and laughed softly. “Meet you at a _church_ , of all places. The irony isn’t lost on me.”

He scooted stealthily closer so that their thighs were touching, and smiled at the ground. “It seemed the best place to prove to you that I was safe. That I’m still good, still me.”

“You’ve never been _good_ , Hux,” she scoffed, pushing the bottle into his hands. He gave her an impish look, shrugging in agreement, and shamelessly chugged.

“Does that even do anything for you now?”

He lowered the bottle, hastily swiping at the drops that escaped from the corners of his mouth; evidently he was still getting used to his new appendages. “Yeah,” he raised his eyebrows. “Trust me, this isn’t the first I’ve had since this happened to me. Just seems to take a lot more of it now. Looks like you won’t be winning anymore drinking games against me.” A pleasantly comfortable silence passed between them for a while, the contents of the bottle depleting swiftly as they passed it back and forth, watching the snow falling and Christmas lights in windows twinkling on, oblivious to their plight.

“Phasma.” His hand crept towards her, fingers curling around hers hesitantly. “Do I scare you? Be honest. Please.”

She squeezed his hand. “The idea of losing you scares me more.”

“Are… are we okay, the two of us?”

“No,” she replied, lips tightening. “But we will be. We always are.”

He managed a small, hopeful smile, fangs be damned. “Plasma and Carnage, together again. As it should be.”

 

* * *

It had taken an ungodly amount of time for things to go back to being as normal as they could between them, but they pulled through nonetheless, the arguments and awkwardness and tears they had shared now a distant, dark memory that neither of them liked to talk about, despite their friendship being stronger for it. Even when he had confessed that his latest romantic interest was a vampire hunter, the backlash he expected from her never came, only unexpected support and a word of advice to be careful. He’d often thought Phasma a delightful oddity in his life, as people normally didn’t stick around long with his difficult personality and tendency to push them away. Then Ben had showed up out of nowhere, and against all odds, determined himself to stick, too, and his extended family seemed to be worming their way into Hux’s life and affections along with him. It all seemed too good to be true and he often thought it was a matter of time before it all crashed down on him, leaving him alone once more, yet for the first time in his life was determined to hold it dear to him for as long as possible instead of pulling away into himself.

And now, standing here in the woods of Ben’s childhood home, _she_ stood before him and he had never felt in so much danger of having it all ripped away, the feelings of fear and uncertainty and mistrust all flooding back to him in a rush of unwelcome emotion.

“Yes, it’s really me. Don’t be alarmed.”

“Forgive me if I seem less than thrilled,” he sneered.

She had the decency to drop her gaze to the ground and look contrite. “You keep strange company these days.”

“Boldly spoken for someone whose company I once kept. It’s no business of yours, Ellie, and you should leave.”

“I don’t blame you for hating me, I put you through . . .” she shook her head sadly. “I’m so sorry, Armitage.” She had always been overly fond of using his name, and he hated it.

“You put me through absolute _hell_! You put Phasma through hell! I still think you have no earthly clue, the magnitude of what you did.”

“I know enough.” She hesitantly met his gaze, eyes brimming.

“I’m sorry. For everything. The threats, the insane calls, the messages.” She stepped closer, causing him to stiffen, hands balling into fists at his sides. “For turning you into . . . this.”

 

He mirrored her steps, not stopping until their faces were inches apart. “Your words try so hard to convey contrition but your tone says you still don’t care.”

 

She swallowed hard, hugging her arms tighter around herself. “I do care. Just – not like I used to.”

 

“Used to? You never cared about me, only your obsession with me. There were nights I didn’t sleep.”

 

“Believe me, I regret everything I did trying to make you love me the way I loved you.”

 

“You didn’t _love_ me!” He growled, taking her roughly by the shoulders. “You don’t terrorize people you love. You tried turning everyone against me from my closest friend to my boss. Fortunately you concealed your lunacy poorly and your attempts were laughable at best.” His breathing was shaky as his grip on her tightened. “And there is nothing, _nothing_ you can do to convince me that you regret a single moment of that, not a single action.” He flung himself away, pacing, dragging a hand through his hair and disheveling it.

 

“Hux, please . . .” she pleaded weakly, eyes filling with moisture. “You have to believe me.”

 

He spun around to face her, staring in mock sympathy. “Don’t give me those crocodile tears, you little wretch. How hypocritical. You managed to bring me to tears once, which is no easy feat, I’ll give you that. And do you remember what you did in spite of my pathetic begging and pleading? You’d better have a good reason for coming here, and be out with it quickly. My ‘strange companions’ are very intuitive.”

 

“It’s your father, Armitage.”

“I have no father,” he spat.

“He’s coming for you.” She continued staring at him, brows furrowed and face pinched with what seemed like genuine concern.

“He never wanted me from the time I was born to the point I finally told him off and left for good, what would he possibly want with me now? And more importantly, how would _you_ know?” He slowly closed the gap between them, taking long, deliberate strides.

“Please don’t be angry at me, Armitage,” she shook her head, pleading. “You don’t know what he’s like, what he’s capable –”

“I know _damn_ well what he’s capable of!” he shouted, forgetting himself. “Don’t even go there with me. I grew up with the shitty self esteem and the bruises to prove it! As for you, you’ve a world of sins to atone for before I can even begin to stop being angry with you.” Without realizing, he had effectively cornered her until she was backed against Ben’s vandalized Ash tree, finding himself disturbingly pleased at the way she shrank away from him. She looked well-fed and yet somehow still unhealthy, skin paler and more transparent than it ever had been before she was turned, and a lifelessness in the once bright, yet unsettlingly large blue eyes. His arms caged her in on either side of the tree trunk as he fixed her with a stare that was predatory and pitying all at once.

“How the tables have turned,” he growled lowly, licking his lips and smiling at the returned presence of his fangs in spite of the pig’s blood. “Something’s happened to you, Ellie. You’re not yourself. What has my father done to you, and what does he want with his _useless_ son?”

She could only squeeze her eyes shut, shaking her head furiously. “I can’t tell you. He’ll hurt me.”

“No more than you deserve.”

She stiffened, eyes narrowing at the way he leered at her, hunger in his eyes. “You don’t mean that,” she replied icily. “Armitage, look at me, look me in the eyes.” She instantly regretted asking as much when he did as she bid; it was easy to forget the effect that those pretty, pale eyes had on her, in spite of moving on. Her reaction did not go unnoticed, the corners of his lips turning up ever so slightly as he stood to his full height, effectively towering over her, fingertips sliding carelessly down the course, silvery bark of the tree and coming to rest tightly around her shoulders.

“Unpleasant feeling, isn’t it? And yet still nowhere near as savage as you were to me that night.”

Her eyes darted this way and that, avoiding his gaze and causing his impatience to grow. He leaned down again, lips close to her ear. “ _Tell me_ what Brendol is up to, Elanor. I won’t ask nicely again.”

She hung her head. “I wish I could.”

He placed a hand beneath her chin, tilting her head up and forcing her to look at him again.“You’ll wish you _did_.”

“You _wouldn’t_!” She hissed, feebly grabbing him by the wrist as he nudged her face sideways and dipped his head down. He leaned in, teeth barely grazing her throat, gathering a fistful of her hair painfully in one hand and pinning her free arm to her side with the other.

“Hux. Stop.”

Hux froze, both furious and grateful for the soft, deep voice behind him that had pulled him out of his sudden urge for madness and blood. Ben’s hand lay on the back of his neck, fingers gently prying him away from his victim and equal, stern brown eyes meeting his in gentle reproach when he finally looked up. Hux continued to stare at him, heart fluttering anxiously when he realized what he’d almost done, and barely noticed Ben softly nudging him aside to stare at his would-be prey.

Ben’s expression was a mixture of shock and confusion as he took in Elanor’s appearance, particularly interested in the way her hair reached almost to her knees, when it all came rushing back, that dream from weeks ago. His mind flashed with the image of him opening her throat and he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment when it also replayed the horror that had followed. He forced them back open, looking at her incredulously.

“You.”

She remained still and cautious as he slowly leaned closer, one hand stretched out, stopping when it hovered just in front of her, his face still a mix of confusion and disbelief. She winced at him but found herself unable to look away, the rhythm of her breathing growing distressed the longer he stood before her. He slowly shook his head.

“I won’t hurt you,” he muttered softly. “Just relax, okay?”

She could still only gape at him in fear and confusion, a defensive snarl forming on her lips, like an injured beast caught in a trap.

“Relax,” he repeated. “Let me see.” Had she simply met him on the street, she might have found him almost charming by the softness in his voice and the kind eyes.

“Let you see what?” she asked, feeling daring enough to be suspicious.

“Whatever I want,” was his calm reply.

His outward demeanor was incredibly deceiving, and Hux knew he was actually seeing Kylo Ren properly for the first time, realizing just how good he was at what he did and how different and yet alike the alter ego was from the man who created him.

Only vaguely aware of Hux’s presence, Ren pressed on with his mental interrogation, eyes closed as he combed through Elanor’s mind, coaxing out the memories he needed the most. At first they were mundane, showcasing how she had evolved from being the new girl at the office where Hux worked, to a friend, and then everything going downhill when it turned to unrequited love. He could feel his temper flare when he accessed the memory of when she had taken Tig’s humanity from him, flinching at his uncharacteristic cries for her to stop and the tears running down his face to mingle with the blood pouring from his neck.

She shrank away from the dark expression on his face, certain he would end her then and there, and feeling almost as if she deserved it for what he had seen her do. “If you’re going to kill me, please do it quickly.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed, brow furrowing. “No.” He shook his head. “If I wanted you dead, I would have just left him to it. You’re going to give me what he asked for.”

By the time he’d finished, she looked beyond exhausted, sitting against the tree with her knees pulled up to her chin with Ben crouched in front of her with all of his hulking bulk, and even Hux felt the tiniest pang of pity tugging at him as she stared up at Ben, eyes pleading with hope that he was really going to stop now.

“Thank you, Miss . . .?”

“Zelkowitz,” she replied wearily. “Elanor Zelkowitz.”

“I’d say it was a pleasure meeting you, but lies are unbecoming. Now,” he stood up, offering her a hand. She reluctantly let him pull her to her feet. “You have exactly fifteen seconds to get out of sight and hearing range before I change my mind about you. The next time you set foot within ten miles of this place, your head and your body will be leaving in separate directions. Is that understood? Your time starts now, by the way.”

By the time Hux had sidled up to Ben and taken him by the hand, fingers intertwined, she was gone.

* * *

Their return to the house was awkward, to say the least, as they both looked out of breath and nervous when they finally appeared in the kitchen once more. Luke eyeballed them in amusement.

“You guys ok?” he asked with a smirk. “You were out there a long time.”

They nodded stupidly, smiling a little too wide to be believable.

“Are you sure?” Poe tried and failed to repress a snort.

“We’re _fine_ , Dameron.” Ben rolled his eyes.

“You know your old room is always open, Ben, there’s no need to take that sort of thing outside in the cold like an exhibitionist,” Leia shouted from the pantry.

“Jesus, Mom!” Ben closed his eyes and pursed his lips, mortified. Phasma could only point and laugh, slapping Poe lightly on the arm.

Rey and Han exchanged knowing glances and he nodded at her in approval. “Speaking of our old rooms,” she said loudly, “It’s been a lovely day with you all, but I’m going to hit the hay now, big shopping day tomorrow.”

“Shopping day?” Poe quipped. You always buy everything online.

“Exactly!” she exclaimed, mockingly placing her hands on either side of his face. “Big sales, gotta rest my clicking finger.”

He pulled her in for a hug, laughing. “G’night, kid. We all know you really just ate too much and can’t wait to get your pants off.”

“Smart man,” she grinned, tapping him on the nose before flamboyantly exiting the room.

After her departure upstairs, it came naturally that everyone else followed suit, although Hux still remained nervous long after they had closed the door behind them and shut off the lights. Sleep eluded them both and so they simply lay side by side in silence, occasionally seeking out each other’s lips in reassurance.

“Thank you for stopping me,” Hux whispered after some time.

A pinched smile crossed Ben’s face as he nuzzled against him. “Honestly? I almost didn’t want to.”

“Why?”

Ben smiled, pulling him close and tracing fingers over his lips. “Forbidden fruit. Kinda wanted to see you . . . do what you do best.”

“Likewise. Now we’re both disappointed. It’s unlike us to leave one another wanting,” he smiled, running his fingers through Ben’s hair. It was always impossibly soft and remained one of Hux’s favorite things about him.

“It won’t happen often, I can promise you that.” He sighed contentedly, leaning into Hux’s touch. “God, I could let you do that forever.”

“However long that is,” Hux mused softly, both hands digging into the mass of black curls now. “I’m still not certain about your decision to let her go. I hope you know what you’re doing, Solo.”

“Me too, Tig.” He shuddered, pleasant little tremors running through him at the feeling of Hux’s fingers coming through his hair, nails ghosting over his scalp and the occasional tug that wasn’t quite strong enough to hurt. He let his own hands creep into the red hair, mirroring the attention and sighing deeply once more as a fitful sleep promised to take him. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry this took so long to get up! I sort of wrote myself into a corner with that last chapter and then had all sorts of boring, heartbreaking personal drama to attend to. I decided to scratch my itch for a Hux/Phasma slice of life story and it ended up being the intro to this next part of the story that I needed! I hope all of you lovelies enjoy. Your kudos and comments are love!


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